Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths
Abstract Background Mesophotic coral communities are increasingly gaining attention for the unique biological diversity they host, exemplified by the numerous mesophotic fish species that continue to be discovered. In contrast, many of the photosynthetic scleractinian corals observed at mesophotic d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-06-01
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| Series: | BMC Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-023-01630-1 |
| _version_ | 1797789591513595904 |
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| author | J. C. Gijsbers N. Englebert K. E. Prata M. Pichon Z. Dinesen R. Brunner G. Eyal F. L. González-Zapata S. E. Kahng K. R. W. Latijnhouwers P. Muir V. Z. Radice J. A. Sánchez M. J. A. Vermeij O. Hoegh-Guldberg S. J. Jacobs P. Bongaerts |
| author_facet | J. C. Gijsbers N. Englebert K. E. Prata M. Pichon Z. Dinesen R. Brunner G. Eyal F. L. González-Zapata S. E. Kahng K. R. W. Latijnhouwers P. Muir V. Z. Radice J. A. Sánchez M. J. A. Vermeij O. Hoegh-Guldberg S. J. Jacobs P. Bongaerts |
| author_sort | J. C. Gijsbers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Mesophotic coral communities are increasingly gaining attention for the unique biological diversity they host, exemplified by the numerous mesophotic fish species that continue to be discovered. In contrast, many of the photosynthetic scleractinian corals observed at mesophotic depths are assumed to be depth-generalists, with very few species characterised as mesophotic-specialists. This presumed lack of a specialised community remains largely untested, as phylogenetic studies on corals have rarely included mesophotic samples and have long suffered from resolution issues associated with traditional sequence markers. Results Here, we used reduced-representation genome sequencing to conduct a phylogenomic assessment of the two dominant mesophotic genera of plating corals in the Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic, respectively, Leptoseris and Agaricia. While these genome-wide phylogenies broadly corroborated the morphological taxonomy, they also exposed deep divergences within the two genera and undescribed diversity across the current taxonomic species. Five of the eight focal species consisted of at least two sympatric and genetically distinct lineages, which were consistently detected across different methods. Conclusions The repeated observation of genetically divergent lineages associated with mesophotic depths highlights that there may be many more mesophotic-specialist coral species than currently acknowledged and that an urgent assessment of this largely unstudied biological diversity is warranted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:52:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c7969d41aada4391990e6ca4a6a24648 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1741-7007 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:52:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c7969d41aada4391990e6ca4a6a246482023-07-02T11:26:56ZengBMCBMC Biology1741-70072023-06-0121111510.1186/s12915-023-01630-1Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depthsJ. C. Gijsbers0N. Englebert1K. E. Prata2M. Pichon3Z. Dinesen4R. Brunner5G. Eyal6F. L. González-Zapata7S. E. Kahng8K. R. W. Latijnhouwers9P. Muir10V. Z. Radice11J. A. Sánchez12M. J. A. Vermeij13O. Hoegh-Guldberg14S. J. Jacobs15P. Bongaerts16California Academy of SciencesGlobal Change Institute, The University of QueenslandCalifornia Academy of SciencesBiodiversity Section, Queensland MuseumCentre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of QueenslandGlobal Change Institute, The University of QueenslandSchool of Biological Sciences, The University of QueenslandLaboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina (BIOMMAR), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los AndesDepartment of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at ManoaCARMABI FoundationGlobal Change Institute, The University of QueenslandGlobal Change Institute, The University of QueenslandLaboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina (BIOMMAR), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los AndesCARMABI FoundationGlobal Change Institute, The University of QueenslandCalifornia Academy of SciencesCalifornia Academy of SciencesAbstract Background Mesophotic coral communities are increasingly gaining attention for the unique biological diversity they host, exemplified by the numerous mesophotic fish species that continue to be discovered. In contrast, many of the photosynthetic scleractinian corals observed at mesophotic depths are assumed to be depth-generalists, with very few species characterised as mesophotic-specialists. This presumed lack of a specialised community remains largely untested, as phylogenetic studies on corals have rarely included mesophotic samples and have long suffered from resolution issues associated with traditional sequence markers. Results Here, we used reduced-representation genome sequencing to conduct a phylogenomic assessment of the two dominant mesophotic genera of plating corals in the Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic, respectively, Leptoseris and Agaricia. While these genome-wide phylogenies broadly corroborated the morphological taxonomy, they also exposed deep divergences within the two genera and undescribed diversity across the current taxonomic species. Five of the eight focal species consisted of at least two sympatric and genetically distinct lineages, which were consistently detected across different methods. Conclusions The repeated observation of genetically divergent lineages associated with mesophotic depths highlights that there may be many more mesophotic-specialist coral species than currently acknowledged and that an urgent assessment of this largely unstudied biological diversity is warranted.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-023-01630-1MesophoticPhylogeneticsScleractiniaBiodiversityDepth-differentiation |
| spellingShingle | J. C. Gijsbers N. Englebert K. E. Prata M. Pichon Z. Dinesen R. Brunner G. Eyal F. L. González-Zapata S. E. Kahng K. R. W. Latijnhouwers P. Muir V. Z. Radice J. A. Sánchez M. J. A. Vermeij O. Hoegh-Guldberg S. J. Jacobs P. Bongaerts Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths BMC Biology Mesophotic Phylogenetics Scleractinia Biodiversity Depth-differentiation |
| title | Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths |
| title_full | Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths |
| title_fullStr | Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths |
| title_full_unstemmed | Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths |
| title_short | Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths |
| title_sort | global phylogenomic assessment of leptoseris and agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths |
| topic | Mesophotic Phylogenetics Scleractinia Biodiversity Depth-differentiation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-023-01630-1 |
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