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New insights into the genetic diversity of zooxanthellae in Mediterranean anthozoans

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Abstract

Symbiotic dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium, also called zooxanthellae, are found in association with a wide diversity of shallow-water anthozoans. The Symbiodinium genus includes numerous lineages, also referred to as clades or phylotypes, as well as a wide diversity of genetic sub-clades and sub-phylotypes. There are few studies characterizing the genetic diversity of zooxanthellae in Mediterranean anthozoans. In this study, we included anthozoans from the Western Mediterranean Sea and by means of internal transcriber (ITS) and large sub-unit (LSU) rRNA markers we corroborate what has been previously identified, demonstrating that phylotype “Temperate A” is very common among host Cnidaria in this basin. Our finding of fixed differences in ITS and LSU markers that correspond to different host taxa, indicate that this clade may comprise several closely-related species. Previous studies have reported the occurrence of Symbiodinium psygmophilum (formerly sub-clade B2) associated with Oculina patagonica and Cladocora caespitosa in the Eastern Mediterranean. Here, we identify this association in O. patagonica from the Western Mediterranean but not in C. caespitosa, suggesting some differences in symbiotic combinations between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean Basins.

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Acknowledgments

The authors want to acknowledge F. Canovas, J. Martinez-Garrido, A. Lerida and A. Addamo for their help in the field with sample collection; R. Garcia-Jimenez and S. Valente for their help and assistance in the molecular laboratory. Dr. Ester Serrão from CCMAR allowed us to carry out the genetic work in her laboratory. M.A. Coffroth for her help with new ideas. We would like also to thanks T. LaJeunesse for his revision on the manuscript and suggestions for improving it. S. Young and K. Nielsen did help us to improve the English grammar and edition. This study was in part performed within the Association of Marine Biology Laboratories Program (ASSEMBLE) under grant agreement no. 227799, carried out at the Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR) at Algarve University; as well as supported by CUMFISH projects (PTDC/MAR/119363/2010; http://www.ccmar.ualg.pt/cumfish/) funded by Fundacão para Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal), CGL2011-23306 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. P. Casado-Amezua is currently supported by an internship from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. M. González-Wangüemert is supported by a FCT postdoctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/70689/2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27568, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Pilar Casado-Amezúa

  2. EU-US Marine Biodiversity Research Group. Franklin Institute, University of Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    Pilar Casado-Amezúa

  3. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Pilar Casado-Amezúa & Annie Machordom

  4. Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR), CIMAR-Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal

    João Bernardo & Mercedes González-Wangüemert

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  1. Pilar Casado-Amezúa
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  2. Annie Machordom
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  3. João Bernardo
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  4. Mercedes González-Wangüemert
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Correspondence to Pilar Casado-Amezúa.

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Casado-Amezúa, P., Machordom, A., Bernardo, J. et al. New insights into the genetic diversity of zooxanthellae in Mediterranean anthozoans. Symbiosis 63, 41–46 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-014-0286-y

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