Journal
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
Volume 8, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.774925
Keywords
Tridacna; Symbiodiniaceae; symbiont; COI; 16S rRNA; ITS1
Funding
- National Key Research and Development Program of China [2019YFD0901301]
- Key Research and Development Project of Hainan Province [ZDYF2019153]
- Hainan University [RZ2100003081]
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The study revealed a close symbiotic relationship between giant clams and Symbiodiniaceae in the South China Sea, but research in this area is still limited. Three species of giant clams collected from Xisha Islands and Hainan hosted Symbiodiniaceae species belonging to the genera Symbiodinium and Cladocopium, with Cladocopium predominantly found in the waters of Xisha Islands.
Giant clams are found in a mutualistic association with Symbiodiniaceae dinoflagellates, however, the diversity of the giant clams, as well as the diversity and distribution of Symbiodiniaceae in different Tridacnine species remain relatively poorly studied in the South China Sea. In this study, a total of 100 giant clams belonging to small type's giant clams, Tridacna maxima, T. crocea, and T. noae, were collected from Hainan and Xisha Islands. Based on mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) and 16S rRNA fragments, T. maxima and T. crocea showed a closer phylogenetic relationship than T. noae. All the three species of giant clams hosted Symbiodiniaceae including genera Symbiodinium (formerly Clade A) and Cladocopium (formerly Clade C). Geographically, symbionts in Cladocopium are restricted to Xisha Islands, probably because Cladocopium prefers to inhabit in waters with higher mean temperatures. The endosymbiont specificity among the three giant clam species was also detected. T. noae and T. crocea are found to harbor Symbiodinium preferentially, compared with Cladocopium. These results could provide important information to understand various endosymbionts occurring in giant clams in the South China Sea.
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