Assessing genetic diversity in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata (Esper 1797) from the Central Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea

作者：Klueter Anke; Andreakis Nikos^*

来源：Systematics and Biodiversity, 2013, 11(1): 67-76.

DOI：10.1080/14772000.2013.770419

• coral
• Coral Sea
• Hsp70
• GBR
• phylogeography
• Stylophora

The widely distributed brooding coral Stylophora pistillata (Esper 1797) occurs in the Red Sea over eastern Africa to Madagascar and the Indo-Pacific and represents a popular model system in investigating cnidarianalgal symbiosis. Recent morphological and genetic evidence suggested that Stylophora consists of multiple cryptic species discernible only by means of genetic techniques. We infer phylogenies from nuclear (Hsp70 gene) and mitochondrial (ORF, CR) DNA regions to explore genetic homogeneity in colonies collected as Stylophora pistillata along the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea from geographically disjointed populations. Lack of phylogenetic structure among sampling sites was recovered, corroborating one genetically homogeneous species and highly connected populations. Our results provide a preliminary assessment of intra-specific genetic variability, useful for delineating taxonomical units within Stylophora pistillata in the study area. This approach is becoming increasingly important when investigating transcriptomic responses of broader physiological processes at the species level, for example, a coral's response to oxidative stress.

• 出版日期2013-3-1