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The Clam Cyclina sinensis (Gmelin) Phylogeography Study with 28S rRNA Gene and Potential of Nuclear rRNA Genes in Genetic Assessments of Molluscs

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Abstract

Intraspecific diversity of molluscan species is usually studied based on maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA, from which only part of the evolutionary history can be reflected. Some nuclear ribosomal RNA genes such as 28S rRNA represent potential candidates that can be easily applied in phylogeography because of lacking intraindividual variation. However, considering their low polymorphism, genetic appraisals on whether and how they can be used in population studies are necessary. Here, we applied a short 28S rRNA to assess genetic patterns of the clam Cyclina sinensis along the coast of China and compared the results with a former study based on COI and ITS-1 analyses. The results revealed the 28S rRNA data set was characterized by an extremely low level of variation, with only seven haplotypes defined for 93 individuals. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity for each population was almost the lowest when compared with the other two markers. However, the distribution of two dominant haplotypes showed clear geographic patterns, and significant population differentiation was revealed between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. These patterns were highly concordant with findings of the former study that populations of C. sinensis were historically separated by land bridges among sea basins. Our study suggested that although the nuclear rRNAs have shortcomings such as low variation, they have advantages including lack of intraindividual variation and high amplification rates. Applying rRNA genes can enrich the toolbox of nuclear markers in molluscan phylogeographic studies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Jie Bai from Shenzhen Genomics Research Institute and Dr. Ying Pan from Guangxi University for their kind help in sample collection. This study was supported by research grants from the Science and Technology Development Project of Weihai City (No. 2018NS01), the Industrial Development Project of Qingdao City (No. 20-3-4-16-nsh), and Guangxi Province (No. AA17204080-4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Gang Ni, Qi Li, Lingfeng Kong & Hong Yu

  2. Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Qi Li, Lingfeng Kong & Hong Yu

  3. Laboratory of Tropical Marine Germplasm Resources and Breeding Engineering, Sanya Oceanographic Institution, Ocean University of China, Sanya, 572000, China

    Qi Li

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  1. Gang Ni
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  3. Lingfeng Kong
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  4. Hong Yu
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Correspondence to Qi Li.

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Ni, G., Li, Q., Kong, L. et al. The Clam Cyclina sinensis (Gmelin) Phylogeography Study with 28S rRNA Gene and Potential of Nuclear rRNA Genes in Genetic Assessments of Molluscs. J. Ocean Univ. China 21, 395–399 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-022-4845-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-022-4845-1

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