Species delimitation in the reef coral genera Echinophyllia and Oxypora (Scleractinia, Lobophylliidae) with a description of two new species

Arrigoni, Roberto, Berumen, Michael L., Chen, Chaolun Allen, Terraneo, Tullia I., Baird, Andrew H., Payri, Claude, and Benzoni, Francesca (2016) Species delimitation in the reef coral genera Echinophyllia and Oxypora (Scleractinia, Lobophylliidae) with a description of two new species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 105. pp. 146-159.

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Abstract

Scleractinian corals are affected by environment-induced phenotypic plasticity and intraspecific morphological variation caused by genotype. In an effort to identify new strategies for resolving this taxonomic issue, we applied a molecular approach for species evaluation to two closely related genera, Echinophyllia and Oxypora, for which few molecular data are available. A robust multi-locus phylogeny using DNA sequence data across four loci of both mitochondrial (COI, ATP6-NAD4) and nuclear (histone H3, ITS region) origin from 109 coral colonies was coupled with three independent putative species delimitation methods based on barcoding threshold (ABGD) and coalescence theory (PTP, GMYC). Observed overall congruence across multiple genetic analyses distinguished two traditional species (E. echinoporoides and O. convoluta), a species complex composed of E. aspera, E. orpheensis, E. tarae, and O. glabra, whereas O. lacera and E. echinata were indistinguishable with the sequenced loci. The combination of molecular species delimitation approaches and skeletal character observations allowed the description of two new reef coral species, E. bulbosa sp. n. from the Red Sea and E. gallii sp. n. from the Maldives and Mayotte. This work demonstrated the efficiency of multi-locus phylogenetic analyses and recently developed molecular species delimitation approaches as valuable tools to disentangle taxonomic issues caused by morphological ambiguities and to re-assess the diversity of scleractinian corals.

Item ID: 46383
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1095-9513
Keywords: GMYC, PTP, ABGD, Red Sea, Maldives, Mayotte
Funders: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France (CNRS), European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genoscope/CEA, Blaams Interuniversitair Instituut Voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Univiersity of Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB), L'Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), European Union (EU), Funds Voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO), BIO5, Biosphere 2, Veolia Environment Foundation, Region Bretagne, World Courier, Illumina, Cap L'Orient, EDF Foundation EDF Diversiterre, Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité (FRB), Prince Albert II de Monaco Foundation, Etienne Bourgois, Tara schooner, Total Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Entrepose Contracting, Divine World University
Projects and Grants: KAUST award #URF/1/1389-01-01, KAUST FCC/1/1973-07, ANR project POSEIDON/ANR-09-BLAN-0348, ANR project BIOMARKS/ANR-08-BDVA-003, ANR project PROMETHEUS/ANR-09-GENM-031, ANR project TARA-GIRUS/ANR-09-PCS-GENM-208, EU FP7 MicroB3/No.287589
Date Deposited: 09 Nov 2016 07:49
FoR Codes: 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3104 Evolutionary biology > 310401 Animal systematics and taxonomy @ 100%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 80%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960803 Documentation of Undescribed Flora and Fauna @ 20%
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