Investigating the molecular systematic relationships amongst selected Plesionika (Decapoda: Pandalidae) from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. (23rd August 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: da Silva, Joana M; dos Santos, Antonina; Cunha, Marina R; Costa, Filipe O; Creer, Simon; Carvalho, Gary R
• Is Part Of: Marine ecology. Volume 34:Number 2(2013:Jun.)
• Page Start: 157
• Page End: 170
• Publication Date: 2012-08-23
• Subjects: Marine ecology -- Periodicals; 577.705
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0485.2012.00530.x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0173-9565

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="maec530-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Despite the high number of species and ecological diversity of pandalid shrimps, there has been no previous attempt to resolve evolutionary relationships of several genera using molecular tools. Although mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) is widely used in barcoding studies to delimit species boundaries, additional insights into phylogenetic affinities can be obtained, especially when used in combination with data from additional genes. The knowledge of molecular diversity is essential to understand phylogenetic relationships and will help systematic clarifications. Based on partial fragments of the 16S and COI genes, we have focused specifically on addressing the systematic relationships of the economically and ecologically important shrimp genus <italic>Plesionika</italic> within a framework of five genera from within the Pandalidae. Our results showed that species within <italic>Plesionika</italic> are substantially divergent when compared with other genera, exhibiting the highest average nucleotide divergence, with 0.1123 and 0.0846 in COI and 16S genes, respectively. In addition, sequence divergence was found to vary greatly within the genus <italic>Plesionika</italic> (COI/16S): 0.0247/0.0016 between <italic>Plesionika antigai</italic> and <italic>Plesionika heterocarpus</italic> and 0.1616/0.098 between <italic>Plesionika heterocarpus</italic> and <italic>Plesionika edwardsii</italic>. We did not find amino acid sequence divergence between <italic>P. heterocarpus</italic> and <italic>P. antigai</italic> compared with <italic>P. heterocarpus</italic> and <italic>P. edwardsii</italic> (8.10%, K2P distance). Three species of <italic>Plesionika</italic> (<italic>P. antigai</italic>, <italic> P. heterocarpus</italic> and <italic>Plesionika scopifera</italic>) appear well separated from other <italic>Plesionika</italic> species in both maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. The present study confirms the utility of COI over 16S as a genetic marker to resolve relationships between different species of <italic>Plesionika</italic> from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, in addition to species delimitation. The findings highlight the need to further review paraphyly within <italic>Plesionika</italic> in an attempt to recognize a concordance in the evolutionary history of <italic>Plesionika</italic> with major ecological and geological events.</p> </abstract>