Journal
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
Volume 40, Issue 1, Pages 8-19Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.11.025
Keywords
Didemnidae; Prochloron; tropical ascidians; photosymbiosis; Urochordata (Tunicata)
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In the tropics, certain didemnid ascidians harbor the prokaryotic photosymbiont Prochloron. To date, this photosymbiosis has been found in four didemnid genera that include non-symbiotic species. Here, we report the molecular phylogeny of symbiotic and non-symbiotic didemnids based on their 18S rDNA sequences. The data cover all four genera containing symbiotic species and one other genus comprised of only non-symbiotic species. Near-complete nucleotide sequences of 18S rDNAs were determined for four non-didemnid species and 52 didemnid samples (five genera), including 48 photosymbiotic samples collected from the Ryukyu Archipelago, the Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, and Bali. Our phylogenetic trees indicated a monophyletic origin of the family Didemnidae, as well as each of the didemnid genera. The results strongly support the hypothesis that establishment of the ascidian-Prochloron symbiosis occurred independently in the Didemnidae lineage at least once in each of the genera that possess symbiotic species. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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