TY - JOUR

T1 - Genetic variation among Halophila ovalis (Hydrocharitaceae) and closely related seagrass species from the coast of Tamil Nadu, India-an AFLP fingerprint approach

AU - Nguyen, Xuan Vy

AU - Thirunavukarassu, Thangaradjou

AU - Papenbrock, Jutta

N1 - Funding information: We are deeply indebted to Professor Dr T. Debener and Dr M. Linde (Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany) for giving technical and scientific advice on AFLP analysis and for the possibility to use their equipment. Special and sincere thanks are also given to Professor Dr Karla McDermid (University of Hawaii at Hilo, USA) for critically reading the manuscript and generously providing many valuable suggestions. We would like to thank Felix Hirschmann, Hannover, Germany, and staff at the Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, India for collecting the samples. This research was financially supported by the Leibniz University Hannover and the Government of Vietnam.

PY - 2013/12/1

Y1 - 2013/12/1

N2 - Among the seagrass species, Halophila ovalis, H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana, H. ovata, H. major and H. minor complex, leaf morphological characters overlap. Previously, plastic and nuclear sequences were successfully applied to resolve genetic variation among all the members within this genus. However, Halophila ovalis, H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana and the H. ovata complex have not yet been fully resolved. This leads to the hypothesis that the genetic differences of H. ovalis and H. ovata are not at the loci we were studying. In this study, AFLP analysis based on 49 demes of four Halophila ovalis, one H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana and two H. ovata populations collected along the coast of Tamil Nadu, India, were carried out to find the genetic distance within and among populations. Results from a band-based approach showed that H. ovalis and H. ovata are definitely clustered into two clades with 100% bootstrap value. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) clearly depicts the genetic relationship among the subspecies, lagoon clone and open sea clone of H. ovalis. Results from allele frequency-based approaches including matrix of genetic distances (FST) and AMOVA showed significant differences among populations. Based on the results it is concluded that H. ovalis and H. ovata are distinct species. Halophila ovalis collected at lagoon, estuary and open sea and H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana are genetically different.

AB - Among the seagrass species, Halophila ovalis, H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana, H. ovata, H. major and H. minor complex, leaf morphological characters overlap. Previously, plastic and nuclear sequences were successfully applied to resolve genetic variation among all the members within this genus. However, Halophila ovalis, H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana and the H. ovata complex have not yet been fully resolved. This leads to the hypothesis that the genetic differences of H. ovalis and H. ovata are not at the loci we were studying. In this study, AFLP analysis based on 49 demes of four Halophila ovalis, one H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana and two H. ovata populations collected along the coast of Tamil Nadu, India, were carried out to find the genetic distance within and among populations. Results from a band-based approach showed that H. ovalis and H. ovata are definitely clustered into two clades with 100% bootstrap value. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) clearly depicts the genetic relationship among the subspecies, lagoon clone and open sea clone of H. ovalis. Results from allele frequency-based approaches including matrix of genetic distances (FST) and AMOVA showed significant differences among populations. Based on the results it is concluded that H. ovalis and H. ovata are distinct species. Halophila ovalis collected at lagoon, estuary and open sea and H. ovalis subsp. ramamurthiana are genetically different.

KW - AFLP

KW - genetic diversity

KW - Halophila ovalis

KW - seagrass

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84892514541&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/14772000.2013.838317

DO - 10.1080/14772000.2013.838317

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84892514541

VL - 11

SP - 467

EP - 476

JO - Systematics and biodiversity

JF - Systematics and biodiversity

SN - 1477-2000

IS - 4

ER -