Parapatric genetic divergence among deep evolutionary lineages in the Mediterranean green crab, Carcinus aestuarii (Brachyura, Portunoidea, Carcinidae), accounts for a sharp phylogeographic break in the Eastern Mediterranean

Deli T., Kalkan E., Karhan S. U., Uzunova S., Keikhosravi A., Bilgin R., ...More

BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, vol.18, 2018 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 18
  • Publication Date: 2018
  • Doi Number: 10.1186/s12862-018-1167-4
  • Journal Name: BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Keywords: Crustacea, Population genetics, Biogeographic boundaries, Evolutionary history, Mitochondrial DNA, Mediterranean Sea, MESSINIAN SALINITY CRISIS, MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA, POPULATION-GROWTH, PARACENTROTUS-LIVIDUS, NORTHEAST ATLANTIC, SEA, SEQUENCES, CIRCULATION, FLOW, DIFFERENTIATION
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Background: Recently, population genetic studies of Mediterranean marine species highlighted patterns of genetic divergence and phylogeographic breaks, due to the interplay between impacts of Pleistocene climate shifts and contemporary hydrographical barriers. These factors markedly shaped the distribution of marine organisms and their genetic makeup. The present study is part of an ongoing effort to understand the phylogeography and evolutionary history of the highly dispersive Mediterranean green crab, Carcinus aestuarii (Nardo, 1847), across the Mediterranean Sea. Recently, marked divergence between two highly separated haplogroups (genetic types I and II) of C. aestuarii was discerned across the Siculo-Tunisian Strait, suggesting an Early Pleistocene vicariant event. In order to better identify phylogeographic patterns in this species, a total of 263 individuals from 22 Mediterranean locations were analysed by comparing a 587 basepair region of the mitochondrial gene Cox1 (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1). The examined dataset is composed of both newly generated sequences (76) and previously investigated ones (187).