Dataset Information

Under the volcano: phylogeography and evolution of the cave-dwelling Palmorchestia hypogaea (Amphipoda, Crustacea) at La Palma (Canary Islands).

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The amphipod crustacean Palmorchestia hypogaea occurs only in La Palma (Canary Islands) and is one of the few terrestrial amphipods in the world that have adapted to a strictly troglobitic life in volcanic cave habitats. A surface-dwelling closely related species (Palmorchestia epigaea) lives in the humid laurel forest on the same island. Previous studies have suggested that an ancestral littoral Orchestia species colonized the humid forests of La Palma and that subsequent drought episodes in the Canaries reduced the distribution of P. epigaea favouring the colonization of lava tubes through an adaptive shift. This was followed by dispersal via the hypogean crevicular system. RESULTS:P. hypogaea and P. epigaea did not form reciprocally monophyletic mitochondrial DNA clades. They showed geographically highly structured and genetically divergent populations with current gene flow limited to geographically close surface locations. Coalescence times using Bayesian estimations assuming a non-correlated relaxed clock with a normal prior distribution of the age of La Palma, together with the lack of association of habitat type with ancestral and recent haplotypes, suggest that their adaptation to cave life is relatively ancient. CONCLUSION:The data gathered here provide evidence for multiple invasions of the volcanic cave systems that have acted as refuges. A re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of the extant species of Palmorchestia is needed, as the division of the two species by habitat and ecology is unnatural. The information obtained here, and that from previous studies on hypogean fauna, shows the importance of factors such as the uncoupling of morphological and genetic evolution, the role of climatic change and regressive evolution as key processes in leading to subterranean biodiversity.

SUBMITTER: Villacorta C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2246103 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Under the volcano: phylogeography and evolution of the cave-dwelling Palmorchestia hypogaea (Amphipoda, Crustacea) at La Palma (Canary Islands).

Villacorta Carlos C Jaume Damià D Oromí Pedro P Juan Carlos C

BMC biology 20080131

<h4>Background</h4>The amphipod crustacean Palmorchestia hypogaea occurs only in La Palma (Canary Islands) and is one of the few terrestrial amphipods in the world that have adapted to a strictly troglobitic life in volcanic cave habitats. A surface-dwelling closely related species (Palmorchestia epigaea) lives in the humid laurel forest on the same island. Previous studies have suggested that an ancestral littoral Orchestia species colonized the humid forests of La Palma and that subsequent dro ...[more]

PMID: 18234125

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Project description:Two Streptomyces strains, labeled as MZ03-37T and MZ03-48, were isolated from two different samples, a mucolite-type speleothem and a microbial mat on the walls of a lava tube from La Palma Island (Canary Islands). Phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated sequences of six housekeeping genes indicated that both strains belonged to the same species. The closest relatives for both strains were Streptomyces palmae CMU-AB204T (98.71%), Streptomyces catenulae NRRL B-2342T (98.35%), and Streptomyces ramulosus NRRL B-2714T (98.35%). Multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA), based on five house-keeping gene alleles (i.e., atpD, gyrB, recA, rpoB, and trpB), indicated that both isolated strains were closely related to S. catenulae NRRL B-2342T. Whole-genome average nucleotide identity (ANI) scores of both strains were in the threshold value for species delineation with the closest species. Both strains presented a G+C content of 72.1 mol%. MZ03-37T was light brown in substrate and white in aerial mycelium, whereas MZ03-48 developed a black aerial and substrate mycelium. No pigment diffusion was observed in both strains. They grew at 10°C-37°C (optimum 28°C-32°C) and in the presence of up to 15% (w/v) NaCl. MZ03-37T grew at pH 5-10 (optimal 6-9), whereas MZ03-48 grew at pH 4-11 (optimal 5-10). LL-Diaminopimelic acid was the main diamino acid identified. The predominant fatty acids in both strains were iso-C16:0, anteiso-C15:0, C16:0, and iso-C14:0. The major isoprenoid quinones were MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H8), and the main polar lipids were aminolipid, phospholipid, and phosphoglycolipid. In silico analyses for functional annotation predicted the presence of gene clusters involved in resistome mechanisms and in the synthesis of described antimicrobials such as linocin-M18 and curamycin, as well as different genes likely involved in mechanisms for active compound synthesis, both already described and not discovered so far. On the basis of their phylogenetic relatedness and their phenotypic and genotypic features, the strains MZ03-37T and MZ03-48 represented a novel species within the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces benahoarensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MZ03-37T (= CECT 9805 = DSMZ 8002); and MZ03-48 (= CECT 9806 = DSMZ 8011) is a reference strain.

Dataset Information

Under the volcano: phylogeography and evolution of the cave-dwelling Palmorchestia hypogaea (Amphipoda, Crustacea) at La Palma (Canary Islands).

Publications

Under the volcano: phylogeography and evolution of the cave-dwelling Palmorchestia hypogaea (Amphipoda, Crustacea) at La Palma (Canary Islands).

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