Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> sp
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The cosmopolitan moon jelly <it>Aurelia</it> is characterized by high degrees of morphological and ecological plasticity, and subsequently by an unclear taxonomic status. The latter has been revised repeatedly over the la...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2002-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Evolutionary Biology |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/2/1 |
| _version_ | 1818385592590794752 |
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| author | Streit Bruno Jarms Gerhard Schroth Werner Schierwater Bernd |
| author_facet | Streit Bruno Jarms Gerhard Schroth Werner Schierwater Bernd |
| author_sort | Streit Bruno |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The cosmopolitan moon jelly <it>Aurelia</it> is characterized by high degrees of morphological and ecological plasticity, and subsequently by an unclear taxonomic status. The latter has been revised repeatedly over the last century, dividing the genus <it>Aurelia</it> in as many as 12 or as little as two species. We used molecular data and phenotypic traits to unravel speciation processes and phylogeographic patterns in <it>Aurelia</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data (16S and ITS-1/5.8S rDNA) from 66 world-wide sampled specimens reveal star-like tree topologies, unambiguously differentiating 7 (mtDNA) and 8 (ncDNA) genetic entities with sequence divergences ranging from 7.8 to 14% (mtDNA) and 5 to 32% (ncDNA), respectively. Phylogenetic patterns strongly suggest historic speciation events and the reconstruction of at least 7 different species within <it>Aurelia</it>. Both genetic divergences and life history traits showed associations to environmental factors, suggesting ecological differentiation forced by divergent selection. Hybridization and introgression between <it>Aurelia</it> lineages likely occurred due to secondary contacts, which, however, did not disrupt the unambiguousness of genetic separation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings recommend <it>Aurelia</it> as a model system for using the combined power of organismic, ecological, and molecular data to unravel speciation processes in cosmopolitan marine organisms.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T03:40:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3cc8c2c02364b04853c7cdd302d1ce9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2148 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T03:40:36Z |
| publishDate | 2002-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Evolutionary Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3cc8c2c02364b04853c7cdd302d1ce92022-12-21T23:18:30ZengBMCBMC Evolutionary Biology1471-21482002-01-0121110.1186/1471-2148-2-1Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> spStreit BrunoJarms GerhardSchroth WernerSchierwater Bernd<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The cosmopolitan moon jelly <it>Aurelia</it> is characterized by high degrees of morphological and ecological plasticity, and subsequently by an unclear taxonomic status. The latter has been revised repeatedly over the last century, dividing the genus <it>Aurelia</it> in as many as 12 or as little as two species. We used molecular data and phenotypic traits to unravel speciation processes and phylogeographic patterns in <it>Aurelia</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data (16S and ITS-1/5.8S rDNA) from 66 world-wide sampled specimens reveal star-like tree topologies, unambiguously differentiating 7 (mtDNA) and 8 (ncDNA) genetic entities with sequence divergences ranging from 7.8 to 14% (mtDNA) and 5 to 32% (ncDNA), respectively. Phylogenetic patterns strongly suggest historic speciation events and the reconstruction of at least 7 different species within <it>Aurelia</it>. Both genetic divergences and life history traits showed associations to environmental factors, suggesting ecological differentiation forced by divergent selection. Hybridization and introgression between <it>Aurelia</it> lineages likely occurred due to secondary contacts, which, however, did not disrupt the unambiguousness of genetic separation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings recommend <it>Aurelia</it> as a model system for using the combined power of organismic, ecological, and molecular data to unravel speciation processes in cosmopolitan marine organisms.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/2/1 |
| spellingShingle | Streit Bruno Jarms Gerhard Schroth Werner Schierwater Bernd Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> sp BMC Evolutionary Biology |
| title | Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> sp |
| title_full | Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> sp |
| title_fullStr | Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> sp |
| title_full_unstemmed | Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> sp |
| title_short | Speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly, <it>Aurelia</it> sp |
| title_sort | speciation and phylogeography in the cosmopolitan marine moon jelly it aurelia it sp |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/2/1 |
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