The Melithaeidae (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) of the Ryukyu Archipelago: Molecular and morphological examinations

[Display omitted] ► We constructed the molecular phylogeny of the octocoral family Melithaeidae. ► Morphological analyses identified three genera, supported by analyses of sclerites. ► Both 28S and COI supported the same Melithaeidae clades with high bootstrap values. ► Morphological-based taxonomy...

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Published inMolecular phylogenetics and evolution Vol. 64; no. 1; pp. 56 - 65
Main Authors Aguilar-Hurtado, Catalina, Nonaka, Masanori, Reimer, James D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Elsevier Inc 01.07.2012
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Summary:[Display omitted] ► We constructed the molecular phylogeny of the octocoral family Melithaeidae. ► Morphological analyses identified three genera, supported by analyses of sclerites. ► Both 28S and COI supported the same Melithaeidae clades with high bootstrap values. ► Morphological-based taxonomy of this family was validated with molecular analyses. ► This study will act as template for future studies of the Melithaeidae family. The family Melithaeidae (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) is distributed in the West Pacific, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. They are most abundant in warmer waters but can also be found in temperate waters. At present six genera are assigned to this family (Melithaea, Mopsella, Clathraria, Acabaria, Wrightella and Asperaxis), however overlapping characteristics make this group’s taxonomic identification difficult and their relationships unclear. There are only a few reports from the Ryukyu Archipelago in southern Japan of melithaeids and most other octocorals, despite the islands being an area of high octocoral diversity. To help resolve the taxonomic confusion in this family, samples from various Ryukyu Archipelago locations were collected and DNA sequences of nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) were obtained. Additionally, SEM micrographs of the sclerites of specimens were taken to further confirm the molecular results. Three strongly supported clades were recovered from the COI and 28S rDNA analyses, corresponding to Melithaea, Acabaria, and Mopsella, and in most cases clades were clearly related with the sclerite shape reported for each genus. These results show clearly that molecular differences are present between the three genera, and also demonstrates the strong need of other molecular markers for resolving intra-generic phylogenies. Our results provide baseline data for future studies of this octocoral family, not only on taxonomy, but also with regards to their distribution in the Ryukyu Islands.
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ISSN:1055-7903
1095-9513
DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.03.005