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Molecular phylogeny and systematics of the scleractinian coral genus Pocillopora in Hawaii

par Flot, Jean-François ;Tillier, Simon
Référence Proceedings of the 10th International Coral Reef Symposium, Vol. 1, page (24-29)
Publication Publié, 2006-07-18

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Résumé :

Corals of the genus Pocillopora are major reef builders ranging from the eastern coasts of Africa to the western coasts of America. However, the systematics of these keystone organisms is unclear, possibly due to morphological plasticity in response to environmental parameters such as light and wave action. To investigate species boundaries in Hawaiian populations of Pocillopora, 37 individuals representative of the five morphotypes of Pocillopora present in Hawaii were collected on the reefs of Oahu. For each individual we amplified and sequenced 750 base pairs of a repeated ribosomal DNA (rDNA) region comprising part of the 5.8S RNA gene, the complete Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) and part of the 28S RNA gene. We found 25 variable characters, and the resulting unrooted phylogenetic tree of alleles was consistent with the monophyly of P. ligulata and P. eydouxi in Hawaii. On the other hand, Hawaiian P. damicornis, P. meandrina and P. molokensis appeared non-monophyletic, which could result from introgressive hybridization, ongoing speciation or retention of an ancestral polymorphism at this locus.