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Genetic variation of Ulva (Enteromorpha) prolifera (Ulvales, Chlorophyta)—the causative species of the green tides in the Yellow Sea, China

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Abstract

Ulva (Enteromorpha) prolifera, widely distributed from the intertidal to the upper subtidal zones around the world, was the dominant species of the massive green tides in the Yellow Sea in the summers of 2007, 2008, and 2009. However, little is known about its intra-species genetic diversity. In this study, six attached and seven floating U. prolifera samples collected from different sites distributed from the north of the Yellow Sea to the south of the East China Sea were taken in inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis. Based on the results of the 90 polymorphic bands from four ISSR primers, the genetic diversity level of the floating samples (H = 0.1663, I = 0.2608) was found to be lower than that of the attached samples (H = 0.2105, I = 0.3346). Unweighted pair-group mean analysis (UPGMA) and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) suggested that floating U. prolifera samples in the Yellow Sea from 2007 to 2009 had a close genetic relationship, and the floating samples were separated from the attached samples. Genetic differentiation and limited gene flow among attached U. prolifera populations were indicated by analysis of molecular variance.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Quanfu Wang from the Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai for his help in sampling and Zhen Li for preparing the map of the sampling areas. This research was supported by the National Key Technology Research and Development Program (2008BAC49B01), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40876082), and the Key Innovative Project of Chinese Academy of Science (KZCX2-YW-209, KZCX2-YW-216).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Jin Zhao, Peng Jiang, Jinfeng Wang, Yulin Cui & Song Qin

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jin Zhao, Jinfeng Wang & Yulin Cui

  3. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Zhengyi Liu

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  1. Jin Zhao
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  2. Peng Jiang
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  3. Zhengyi Liu
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  4. Jinfeng Wang
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  5. Yulin Cui
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  6. Song Qin
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Correspondence to Peng Jiang or Song Qin.

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Zhao, J., Jiang, P., Liu, Z. et al. Genetic variation of Ulva (Enteromorpha) prolifera (Ulvales, Chlorophyta)—the causative species of the green tides in the Yellow Sea, China. J Appl Phycol 23, 227–233 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9563-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9563-1

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