Abstract
We discovered for the first time a mitochondrial intron in a non-tetillid demosponge, which sheds new light on the interpretation of mitochondrial intron evolution among non-bilaterian animals and has consequences for phylogenetic and DNA barcoding studies. The newly discovered class 1 intron of Aplysinella rhax (Verongida) CO1 has an ORF for a putative LAGLIDADG-type and resembles other sponge and cnidarian mitochondrial introns. Our analysis of the Aplysinella rhax intron underlines that the patchy distribution of introns in sponges is caused by a combination of horizontal and vertical transmission. Further implications for CO1 phylogenetic and barcoding projects are discussed.
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Acknowledgements
DE and GW thank the Deutsche Forschschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for financial support (Er611/3-1, Wo896/15-1) and acknowledge funding through the LMU Munich’s Institutional Strategy LMUexcellent (Project MODELSPONGE) within the framework of the German Excellence Initiative.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Erpenbeck, D., Aryasari, R., Hooper, J.N.A. et al. A Mitochondrial Intron in a Verongid Sponge. J Mol Evol 80, 13–17 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-014-9653-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-014-9653-9