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DNA barcoding reveals cryptic diversity in Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 (Clitellata): resurrection of L. herculeus (Savigny, 1826).

ABSTRACT: The widely studied and invasive earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 has been the subject of nomenclatural debate for many years. However these disputes were not based on suspicions of heterogeneity, but rather on the descriptions and nomenclatural acts associated with the species name. Large numbers of DNA barcode sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I obtained for nominal L. terrestris and six congeneric species reveal that there are two distinct lineages within nominal L. terrestris. One of those lineages contains the Swedish population from which the name-bearing specimen of L. terrestris was obtained. The other contains the population from which the syntype series of Enterion herculeum Savigny, 1826 was collected. In both cases modern and old representatives yielded barcode sequences allowing us to clearly establish that these are two distinct species, as different from one another as any other pair of congeners in our data set. The two are morphologically indistinguishable, except by overlapping size-related characters. We have designated a new neotype for L. terrestris. The newly designated neotype and a syntype of L. herculeus yielded DNA adequate for sequencing part of the cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI). The sequence data make possible the objective determination of the identities of earthworms morphologically identical to L. terrestris and L. herculeus, regardless of body size and segment number. Past work on nominal L. terrestris could have been on either or both species, although L. herculeus has yet to be found outside of Europe.

SUBMITTER: James SW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3012069 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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DNA barcoding reveals cryptic diversity in Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 (Clitellata): resurrection of L. herculeus (Savigny, 1826).

James Samuel W SW James Samuel W SW Porco David D Decaëns Thibaud T Richard Benoit B Rougerie Rodolphe R Erséus Christer C

PloS one 20101229 12

The widely studied and invasive earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 has been the subject of nomenclatural debate for many years. However these disputes were not based on suspicions of heterogeneity, but rather on the descriptions and nomenclatural acts associated with the species name. Large numbers of DNA barcode sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I obtained for nominal L. terrestris and six congeneric species reveal that there are two distinct lineages within nominal L. terrestris. One o ...[more]

PMID: 21206917

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Project description:The earthworm gut is an anoxic, saccharide-rich microzone in aerated soils. The apparent degradation of diverse saccharides in the alimentary canal of the model earthworm Lumbricusterrestris is concomitant with the production of diverse organic acids, indicating that fermentation is an ongoing process in the earthworm gut. However, little is known about how different gut-associated saccharides are fermented. The hypothesis of this investigation was that different gut-associated saccharides differentially stimulate fermentative microorganisms in gut contents of L. terrestris This hypothesis was addressed by (i) assessing the fermentation profiles of anoxic gut content microcosms that were supplemented with gut-associated saccharides and (ii) the concomitant phylogenic analysis of 16S rRNA sequences. Galactose, glucose, maltose, mannose, arabinose, fucose, rhamnose, and xylose stimulated the production of fermentation products, including H2, CO2, acetate, lactate, propionate, formate, succinate, and ethanol. Fermentation profiles were dependent on the supplemental saccharide (e.g., glucose yielded large amounts of H2 and ethanol, whereas fucose did not, and maltose yielded large amounts of lactate, whereas mannose did not). Approximately 1,750,000 16S rRNA sequences were affiliated with 37 families, and phylogenic analyses indicated that a respective saccharide stimulated a subset of the diverse phylotypes. An Aeromonas-related phylotype displayed a high relative abundance in all treatments, whereas key Enterobacteriaceae-affiliated phylotypes were stimulated by some but not all saccharides. Collectively, these results reinforce the likelihood that (i) different saccharides stimulate different fermentations in gut contents of the earthworm and (ii) facultative aerobes related to Aeromonadaceae and Enterobacteriaceae can be important drivers of these fermentations.IMPORTANCE The feeding habits of earthworms influence the turnover of elements in the terrestrial biosphere. The alimentary tract of the earthworm constitutes an anoxic saccharide-rich microzone in aerated soils that offers ingested microbes a unique opportunity for anaerobic growth. The fermentative activity of microbes in the alimentary tract are responsible for the in situ production of (i) organic compounds that can be assimilated by the earthworm and (ii) H2 that is subject to in vivo emission by the earthworm and can be trophically linked to secondary microbial events in soils. To gain insight on how fermentative members of the gut microbiome might respond to the saccharide-rich alimentary canal, this study examines the impact of diverse gut-associated saccharides on the differential activation of fermentative microbes in gut contents of the model earthworm L. terrestris.

Dataset Information

DNA barcoding reveals cryptic diversity in Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 (Clitellata): resurrection of L. herculeus (Savigny, 1826).

Publications

DNA barcoding reveals cryptic diversity in Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 (Clitellata): resurrection of L. herculeus (Savigny, 1826).

Similar Datasets

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