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Morphological and molecular comparisons of dominant amphioxus populations in the China Seas

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Abstract

The amphioxi Branchiostoma belcheri, Branchiostoma japonicum and Branchiostoma malayanum are recorded from the coast of China Seas. Six amphioxus populations comprising three Branchiostoma species collected from Hong Kong (southern China), Xiamen (south-eastern China) and Qingdao (northern China) were compared at the morphological and molecular levels. Phylogenetic separations among the species and geographic populations were evaluated by the analysis of 12S ribosomal RNA gene sequences and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. From morphological characters, B. belcheri is more closely related to B. japonicum than to B. malayanum. However, phylogenetic affinities indicated by both 12S rRNA gene sequences and AFLP analysis showed a more recent phylogenetic splitting of B. belcheri and B. malayanum than that of B. belcheri and B. japonicum. In the AFLP similarity tree, geographic populations of B. japonicum were clustered into different clades. The AFLP data also showed that both B. belcheri and B. japonicum populations in Hong Kong have the highest levels of within-population genetic diversity as compared to that in Xiamen and Qingdao, suggesting that genetic diversity of Branchiostoma decreases from low to high latitudes. Results of hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) also revealed a high level of genetic diversity either for the three B. japonicum populations or the two B. belcheri populations in China Seas. However, genetic variation among the three B. japonicum populations was insignificant, indicating that these populations are genetically connected.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Environment Conservation Fund of Hong Kong SAR government (Project No. 3/2002). The authors would like to thank Professor Ke Caihuan from Xiamen University and Prof. Zhang Zhinan from Ocean University for their assistance in obtaining amphioxus samples from Xiamen and Qingdao, China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Y. Chen, S. G. Cheung, R. Y. C. Kong & P. K. S. Shin

  2. Centre for Coastal Pollution and Conservation, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China

    P. K. S. Shin

Authors
  1. Y. Chen
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  2. S. G. Cheung
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  3. R. Y. C. Kong
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  4. P. K. S. Shin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. K. S. Shin.

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Communicated by K. Yin.

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Chen, Y., Cheung, S.G., Kong, R.Y.C. et al. Morphological and molecular comparisons of dominant amphioxus populations in the China Seas. Mar Biol 153, 189–198 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0797-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0797-7

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