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Low genetic structuring among Pericharax heteroraphis (Porifera: Calcarea) populations from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), revealed by analysis of nrDNA and nuclear intron sequences

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Abstract

A new nuclear marker system for sponges, the second intron of the nuclear ATP synthetase beta subunit gene (ATPSbeta-iII), was analysed together with nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences aiming to uncover phylogeographic patterns of the coral reef sponge Pericharax heteroraphis in the south-west Pacific, focussing on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Variation among ITS sequences was low (<1.1% p-distance), in contrast to ATPSbeta-iII (<8.3% p-distance). Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) analysis proved to be an effective tool for phasing ATPSbeta-iII alleles of 292 bp length. Although sample sizes were limited for most populations and these results await corroboration by an extended sampling regime, a past population subdivision with subsequent range expansion was indicated by a ‘dumb-bell’ shaped statistical parsimony network of GBR ATPSbeta-iII alleles. Although no clear phylogeographic break was discovered on the GBR, the northern GBR was genetically differentiated from the central/southern GBR and Queensland Plateau, based on significant pairwise F st values (0.137–0.275 and p ≤ 0.05) of pooled regional populations. The ATPSbeta-iII used in this study outperformed the frequently employed nrDNA ITS and might also turn out to be useful for phylogeographic studies of other coral reef taxa.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG, Project Wo896/3-1,3), the European Union (HOTSPOTS) and an Australian Biological Resources Study Grant to GW and JNA Hooper (Queensland Museum, Brisbane, QLD, Australia). The GBR Marine Park Authority is gratefully acknowledged for permitting the fieldwork (Permit no.: G98/142, G98/022). For helpful discussion and constructive comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript, we thank D. Erpenbeck, L. Macis, D. J. Jackson, G. S. Richards, and O. Voigt, and S. Nichols and N. Wilson for assistance in obtaining samples. Furthermore, we thank M. van Oppen and two anonymous reviewers for insightful and constructive reviews.

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  1. B. Bentlage

    Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

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  1. Department of Geobiology, Geoscience Centre Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    B. Bentlage & G. Wörheide

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Communicated by Biology Editor M. van Oppen.

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Bentlage, B., Wörheide, G. Low genetic structuring among Pericharax heteroraphis (Porifera: Calcarea) populations from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), revealed by analysis of nrDNA and nuclear intron sequences. Coral Reefs 26, 807–816 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0267-1

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