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Genotyping the clonal structure of a gorgonian coral, Junceella juncea (Anthozoa: Octocorallia), using microsatellite loci

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Abstract

The identification of different clones is fundamental to the study of population structure among organisms with mixed reproductive modes such as cnidarians. However, due to the low genetic variation of coral mtDNA and contamination by zooxanthellate DNA, very few molecular markers are available for studying the clonal structure of cnidarians. Herein we used four polymorphic loci of microsatellite DNA isolated from a zooxanthellae-free octocoral, Junceella juncea, to study its clonal structure in seven populations collected from three localities in Taiwan. In total, 40 multilocus genotypes were found among 152 colonies, and the number of genotypes (clones) identified in the seven populations ranged from 2 to 16. Each of the 40 multilocus genotypes was restricted to a single population, even where adjacent populations were only 100 m distant. The ratio of observed to expected genotypic diversity (Go:Ge) ranged from 0.217 to 0.650, and Go showed a significant departure from Ge (p<0.05) at each site indicating that asexual fragmentation may play a major role in the maintenance of established populations. Mean relatedness (R) values showed that genotypes within reefs were more closely related than those between regions. The results indicate that microsatellites are useful for discerning the clonal structures among and within populations at different spatial scales.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs. C. A. Chen, H. R. Lasker, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. We also thank Dr. Z. Pasternak for his assistance with statistical analyses and students in H.-T. Yu’s lab for sharing experiences in cloning. This study was supported by a grant from the National Science Council, Taiwan, ROC. (NSC92-2611-M-002-018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan, ROC

    Shang-Yin Vanson Liu & Chang-Feng Dai

  2. Graduate Institute of Zoology and Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan, ROC

    Hon-Tsen Yu

  3. National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan, ROC

    Tung-Yung Fan

Authors
  1. Shang-Yin Vanson Liu
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  2. Hon-Tsen Yu
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  3. Tung-Yung Fan
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  4. Chang-Feng Dai
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Correspondence to Chang-Feng Dai.

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Communicated by Biological Editor H.R. Lasker

Electronic supplement: Unique multilocus genotypes (clones) revealed by 4 polymorphic loci for Junceella juncea colonies collected from Xiashuijui (Reefs A, B, C, Transplant, Transect), Nanwan and Shicheng

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Liu, SY.V., Yu, HT., Fan, TY. et al. Genotyping the clonal structure of a gorgonian coral, Junceella juncea (Anthozoa: Octocorallia), using microsatellite loci. Coral Reefs 24, 352–358 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0011-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0011-7

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