Dataset Information

Comparison of Symbiodiniaceae diversities in different members of a Palythoa species complex (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Zoantharia)-implications for ecological adaptations to different microhabitats.

ABSTRACT: In this study we compared genotypes of zoantharian host-associating algal symbionts among Palythoa species, which are among the dominant benthic reef organisms in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, and evaluated Symbiodiniaceae diversities of closely related congeneric Palythoa species. We targeted a species complex of the zoantharian genus Palythoa (P. tuberculosa, P. sp. yoron, P. mutuki) living among different microhabitats in a narrow reef area of Tokunoshima Island. For phylogenetic analyses, we used two DNA marker regions; nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and plastid mini-circle non-coding region (psbAncr), both of which have previously been used to determine Symbiodiniaceae genotypes of zoantharian species. Our results showed that all Palythoa species hosted symbionts of the genus Cladocopium, with genotypic compositions of this genus showing some variations among the three different Palythoa species. Additionally, we found that the Cladocopium genotypic composition was statistically different among Palythoa species, and among P. tuberculosa specimens in different microhabitats. Our results suggest that ecological divergence among these three Palythoa species may be related to differing Symbiodiniaceae diversities that may in turn contribute to eco-physiological adaptation into different microhabitats on coral reefs.

SUBMITTER: Mizuyama M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7003691 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparison of Symbiodiniaceae diversities in different members of a Palythoa species complex (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Zoantharia)-implications for ecological adaptations to different microhabitats.

Mizuyama Masaru M Iguchi Akira A Iijima Mariko M Gibu Kodai K Reimer James Davis JD

PeerJ 20200203

In this study we compared genotypes of zoantharian host-associating algal symbionts among Palythoa species, which are among the dominant benthic reef organisms in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, and evaluated Symbiodiniaceae diversities of closely related congeneric Palythoa species. We targeted a species complex of the zoantharian genus Palythoa (P. tuberculosa, P. sp. yoron, P. mutuki) living among different microhabitats in a narrow reef area of Tokuno ...[more]

PMID: 32117611

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Project description:Zoantharians are sessile marine invertebrates and colonial organisms possessing sexual and asexual reproductive ability. The zooxanthellate zoantharian genus Palythoa is widely distributed in coral reef ecosystems. In the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, sympatric Palythoa tuberculosa and P. mutuki are the dominant species of this genus in the intertidal zone. Previous phylogenetic analyses have shown that these two species are closely related, and additionally revealed a putative sympatric hybrid species (designated as Palythoa sp. yoron). In this study, we attempted to delineate Palythoa species boundaries and to clarify the relationships among these three groups plus another additional putative sympatric species (P. aff. mutuki) by multiple independent criteria. The morphology of these four lineages was clearly different; for example the number of tentacles was significantly different for each species group in all pairwise comparisons. From observations of gonadal development conducted in 2010 and 2011, P. sp. yoron and P. aff. mutuki appear to be reproductively isolated from P. tuberculosa. In the phylogenetic tree resulting from maximum likelihood analyses of the ITS-rDNA sequence alignment, P. tuberculosa and P. sp. yoron formed a very well supported monophyletic clade (NJ = 100%, ML = 95%, Bayes = 0.99). This study demonstrates that despite clear morphological and/or reproductive differences, P. tuberculosa and P. sp. yoron are phylogenetically entangled and closely related to each other, as are P. mutuki and P. aff. mutuki. Additionally, no single molecular marker was able to divide these four lineages into monophyletic clades by themselves, and a marker that has enough resolution to solve this molecular phylogenetic species complex is required. In summary, the morphological and reproductive results suggest these lineages are four separate species, and that incomplete genetic lineage sorting may prevent the accurate phylogenetic detection of distinct species with the DNA markers utilized in this study, demonstrating the value of morphological and reproductive data when examining closely related lineages.

Dataset Information

Comparison of Symbiodiniaceae diversities in different members of a Palythoa species complex (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Zoantharia)-implications for ecological adaptations to different microhabitats.

Publications

Comparison of Symbiodiniaceae diversities in different members of a <i>Palythoa</i> species complex (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Zoantharia)-implications for ecological adaptations to different microhabitats.

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