Unique mitogenomic features in the scleractinian family pocilloporidae (scleractinia: astrocoeniina)

300 million years apart: the extreme case of macromorphological skeletal convergence between deltocyathids and a turbinoliid coral (Anthozoa, Scleractinia)

The integration of morphological and molecular lines of evidence has enabled the family Deltocyathidae to be erected to accommodate Deltocyathus species that were previously ascribed to the family Caryophylliidae. However, although displaying the same morphological characteristics as other species of Deltocyathus , molecular data suggested that D. magnificus was phylogenetically distant from Deltocyathidae, falling within the family Turbinoliidae instead. To elucidate the enigmatic evolutionary history of this species and skeletal microstructural features, the phylogenetic relationships of Deltocyathidae and Turbinoliidae were investigated using nuclear ultraconserved and exon loci and complete mitochondrial genomes. Both nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenomic reconstructions confirmed the position of D. magnificus within turbinolids. Furthermore, a novel mitochondrial gene order was uncovered for Deltocyathidae species. This gene order was not present in Turbinoliidae or in D. magnificus that both have the scleractinian canonical gene order, further indicating the taxonomic utility of mitochondrial gene order. D. magnificus is therefore formally moved to the family Turbinoliidae and accommodated in a new genus (Dennantotrochus Kitahara, Vaga & Stolarski, gen. nov.). Surprisingly, turbinolids and deltocyathids do not differ in microstructural organisation of the skeleton that consists of densely packed, individualised rapid accretion deposits and thickening deposits composed of fibres perpendicular to the skeleton surface. Therefore, although both families are clearly evolutionarily divergent, macromorphological features indicate a case of skeletal convergence while these may still share conservative biomineralisation mechanisms. ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5F1C0E25-3CC6-4D1F-B1F0-CD9D0014678E.

The genome of the colonial hydroid Hydractinia reveals their stem cells utilize a toolkit of evolutionarily shared genes with all animals

Hydractinia is a colonial marine hydroid that exhibits remarkable biological properties, including the capacity to regenerate its entire body throughout its lifetime, a process made possible by its adult migratory stem cells, known as i-cells. Here, we provide an in-depth characterization of the genomic structure and gene content of two Hydractinia species, H. symbiolongicarpus and H. echinata, placing them in a comparative evolutionary framework with other cnidarian genomes. We also generated and annotated a single-cell transcriptomic atlas for adult male H. symbiolongicarpus and identified cell type markers for all major cell types, including key i-cell markers. Orthology analyses based on the markers revealed that Hydractinia's i-cells are highly enriched in genes that are widely shared amongst animals, a striking finding given that Hydractinia has a higher proportion of phylum-specific genes than any of the other 41 animals in our orthology analysis. These results indicate that Hydractinia's stem cells and early progenitor cells may use a toolkit shared with all animals, making it a promising model organism for future exploration of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. The genomic and transcriptomic resources for Hydractinia presented here will enable further studies of their regenerative capacity, colonial morphology, and ability to distinguish self from non-self.

Cophylogeny and specificity between cryptic coral species (Pocillopora spp.) at Mo'orea and their symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae)

The congruence between phylogenies of tightly associated groups of organisms (cophylogeny) reflects evolutionary links between ecologically important interactions. However, despite being a classic example of an obligate symbiosis, tests of cophylogeny between scleractinian corals and their photosynthetic algal symbionts have been hampered in the past because both corals and algae contain genetically unresolved and morphologically cryptic species. Here, we studied co-occurring, cryptic Pocillopora species from Mo'orea, French Polynesia, that differ in their relative abundance across depth. We constructed new phylogenies of the host Pocillopora (using complete mitochondrial genomes, genomic loci, and thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms) and their Symbiodiniaceae symbionts (using ITS2 and psbA^ncr markers) and tested for cophylogeny. The analysis supported the presence of five Pocillopora species on the fore reef at Mo'orea that mostly hosted either Cladocopium latusorum or C. pacificum. Only Pocillopora species hosting C. latusorum also hosted taxa from Symbiodinium and Durusdinium. In general, the Cladocopium phylogeny mirrored the Pocillopora phylogeny. Within Cladocopium species, lineages also differed in their associations with Pocillopora haplotypes, except those showing evidence of nuclear introgression, and with depth in the two most common Pocillopora species. We also found evidence for a new Pocillopora species (haplotype 10), that has so far only been sampled from French Polynesia, that warrants formal identification. The linked phylogenies of these Pocillopora and Cladocopium species and lineages suggest that symbiont speciation is driven by niche diversification in the host, but there is still evidence for symbiont flexibility in some cases.

Caryophylliids (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) and mitochondrial gene order: insights from mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenomics

Molecularly, the family Caryophylliidae is polyphyletic and different sets of genetic data converge towards a consensus that a taxonomic review of this family is necessary. Overall, the order of genes in the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) together with DNA sequences have been used to successfully untangle evolutionary relationships in several groups of organisms. Published mitogenomes of two caryophylliid genera (Desmophyllum and Solenosmilia) present a transposition of the gene block containing cob, nad2, and nad6, which is located between nad5 5' exon and trnW, while that of Polycyathus chaishanensis presents the same gene order as the majority of scleractinian corals. In molecular-based evolutionary reconstructions, caryophylliids that have the mitochondrial gene rearrangement were recovered as a monophyletic lineage ("true" caryophylliids), while members of the genus Polycyathus were placed in a different position. In this study, additional mitogenomes of this family were assembled and included in evolutionary reconstructions of Scleractinia in order to improve our understanding on whether the mitogenome gene rearrangement is limited to and, therefore, could be a synapomorphy of the actual members of Caryophylliidae. Specimens of Caryophyllia scobinosa, Premocyathus sp., Heterocyathus sulcatus, and Trochocyathus caryophylloides, as well as Desmophyllum pertusum and Solenosmilia variabilis from the Southwest Atlantic were sequenced using Illumina platforms. Then, mitochondrial genomes were assembled and annotated, and nuclear datasets were recovered in-silico from assembled contigs using a previously published set of baits. Evolutionary reconstructions were performed using mitochondrial and nuclear datasets and based on Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference. Obtained mitogenomes are circular and range between 15,816 and 18,225 bp in size and from 30.76% to 36.63% in GC content. The gene rearrangement is only seen in C. scobinosa, D. pertusum, Premocyathus sp., and S. variabilis, which were recovered as a monophyletic clade in both mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies. On the other hand, the "caryophylliids" with the canonical mitogenome gene order were not recovered within this clade. Differences in features of the skeleton of "true" caryophylliids in comparison to traditional members of the family were observed and offer further support that the gene rearrangement might be seen as a synapomorphy of family Caryophylliidae.

Identification, Synthesis, Conformation and Activity of an Insulin-like Peptide from a Sea Anemone

The role of insulin and insulin-like peptides (ILPs) in vertebrate animals is well studied. Numerous ILPs are also found in invertebrates, although there is uncertainty as to the function and role of many of these peptides. We have identified transcripts with similarity to the insulin family in the tentacle transcriptomes of the sea anemone Oulactis sp. (Actiniaria: Actiniidae). The translated transcripts showed that these insulin-like peptides have highly conserved A- and B-chains among individuals of this species, as well as other Anthozoa. An Oulactis sp. ILP sequence (IlO1_i1) was synthesized using Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis of the individual chains, followed by regioselective disulfide bond formation of the intra-A and two interchain disulfide bonds. Bioactivity studies of IlO1_i1 were conducted on human insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptors, and on voltage-gated potassium, sodium, and calcium channels. IlO1_i1 did not bind to the insulin or insulin-like growth factor receptors, but showed weak activity against KV1.2, 1.3, 3.1, and 11.1 (hERG) channels, as well as NaV1.4 channels. Further functional studies are required to determine the role of this peptide in the sea anemone.

A molecular census of early-life stage scleractinian corals in shallow and mesophotic zones

The decline of coral reefs has fueled interest in determining whether mesophotic reefs can shield against disturbances and help replenish deteriorated shallower reefs. In this study, we characterized spatial (horizontal and vertical) and seasonal patterns of diversity in coral recruits from Dabaisha and Guiwan reefs at Ludao, Taiwan. Concrete blocks supporting terra-cotta tiles were placed at shallow (15m) and mesophotic (40m) depths, during 2016-2018. Half of the tiles were retrieved and replaced biannually over three 6-month surveys (short-term); the remainder retrieved at the end of the 18-month (long-term) survey. 451 recruits were located using fluorescent censusing and identified by DNA barcoding. Barcoding the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene resulted in 17 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs). To obtain taxonomic resolution to the generic level, Pocillopora were phylotyped using the mitochondrial open reading frame (ORF), resolving eight MOTUs. Acropora, Isopora, and Montipora recruits were identified by the nuclear PaxC intron, yielding ten MOTUs. Overall, 35 MOTUs were generated and were comprised primarily of Pocillopora and, in fewer numbers, Acropora, Isopora, Pavona, Montipora, Stylophora, among others. 40% of MOTUs recruited solely within mesophotic reefs while 20% were shared by both depth zones. MOTUs recruiting across a broad depth distribution appear consistent with the hypothesis of mesophotic reefs acting as a refuge for shallow-water coral reefs. In contrast, Acropora and Isopora MOTUs were structured across depth zones representing an exception to this hypothesis. This research provides an imperative assessment of coral recruitment in understudied mesophotic reefs and imparts insight into the refuge hypothesis.

The earliest diverging extant scleractinian corals recovered by mitochondrial genomes

Evolutionary reconstructions of scleractinian corals have a discrepant proportion of zooxanthellate reef-building species in relation to their azooxanthellate deep-sea counterparts. In particular, the earliest diverging "Basal" lineage remains poorly studied compared to "Robust" and "Complex" corals. The lack of data from corals other than reef-building species impairs a broader understanding of scleractinian evolution. Here, based on complete mitogenomes, the early onset of azooxanthellate corals is explored focusing on one of the most morphologically distinct families, Micrabaciidae. Sequenced on both Illumina and Sanger platforms, mitogenomes of four micrabaciids range from 19,048 to 19,542 bp and have gene content and order similar to the majority of scleractinians. Phylogenies containing all mitochondrial genes confirm the monophyly of Micrabaciidae as a sister group to the rest of Scleractinia. This topology not only corroborates the hypothesis of a solitary and azooxanthellate ancestor for the order, but also agrees with the unique skeletal microstructure previously found in the family. Moreover, the early-diverging position of micrabaciids followed by gardineriids reinforces the previously observed macromorphological similarities between micrabaciids and Corallimorpharia as well as its microstructural differences with Gardineriidae. The fact that both families share features with family Kilbuchophylliidae ultimately points towards a Middle Ordovician origin for Scleractinia.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Acropora pruinosa

In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of stony coral, Acropora pruinosa (Scleractinia), has been decoded for the first time by next generation sequencing and genome assembly. The assembled mitogenome, consisting of 18,480 bp, has unique 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), three transfer RNAs, and two ribosomal RNAs genes. The complete mitogenome of Acropora pruinosa showing 99% identities to Acropora nasuta. The complete mitogenome provides essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses for coral phylogeny.

A genomic glance through the fog of plasticity and diversification in Pocillopora

Scleractinian corals of the genus Pocillopora (Lamarck, 1816) are notoriously difficult to identify morphologically with considerable debate on the degree to which phenotypic plasticity, introgressive hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting obscure well-defined taxonomic lineages. Here, we used RAD-seq to resolve the phylogenetic relationships among seven species of Pocillopora represented by 15 coral holobiont metagenomic libraries. We found strong concordance between the coral holobiont datasets, reads that mapped to the Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) transcriptome, nearly complete mitochondrial genomes, 430 unlinked high-quality SNPs shared across all Pocillopora taxa, and a conspecificity matrix of the holobiont dataset. These datasets also show strong concordance with previously published clustering of the mitochondrial clades based on the mtDNA open reading frame (ORF). We resolve seven clear monophyletic groups, with no evidence for introgressive hybridization among any but the most recently derived sister species. In contrast, ribosomal and histone datasets, which are most commonly used in coral phylogenies to date, were less informative and contradictory to these other datasets. These data indicate that extant Pocillopora species diversified from a common ancestral lineage within the last ~3 million years. Key to this evolutionary success story may be the high phenotypic plasticity exhibited by Pocillopora species.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Acropora aculeus (cnidaria, scleractinia, acroporidae)

The mitochondrial genome is typically a single circular chromosome in eukaryotes. In the present study, the sequenced mitochondrial genome of Acropora aculeus was of 18 532 bp in length, and encoded thirteen typical protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and two transfer RNA genes. All genes except trnM, rrnL, trnW, atp8, and cox2 were engulfed by the large intron of the nad5 gene. A unique initiation codon TTG presented in the nad3 gene. In the phylogenic tree, the tree length of genus Montipora/Astreopora was longest among all genus pairwise comparisons in the family Acroporidae, and it was also longer than the tree length of A. aculeus/other species. These results suggested that the mitochondrial genome evolution of genus Astreopora could be fastest in the family Acroporidae.

Description of the mitochondrial genome of the tree coral Dendrophyllia arbuscula (Anthozoa, Scleractinia)

Dendrophylliidae is one of the few monophyletic families within the Scleractinia that embraces zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate species represented by both solitary and colonial forms. Among the exclusively azooxanthellate genera, Dendrophyllia is reported worldwide from 1 to 1200 m deep. To date, although three complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes from representatives of the family are available, only that from Turbinaria peltata has been formally published. Here we describe the complete nucleotide sequence of the mt genome from Dendrophyllia arbuscula that is 19 069 bp in length and comprises two rDNAs, two tRNAs, and 13 protein-coding genes arranged in the canonical scleractinian mt gene order. No genes overlap, resulting in the presence of 18 intergenic spacers and one of the longest scleractinian mt genome sequenced to date.

The "naked coral" hypothesis revisited--evidence for and against scleractinian monophyly

The relationship between Scleractinia and Corallimorpharia, Orders within Anthozoa distinguished by the presence of an aragonite skeleton in the former, is controversial. Although classically considered distinct groups, some phylogenetic analyses have placed the Corallimorpharia within a larger Scleractinia/Corallimorpharia clade, leading to the suggestion that the Corallimorpharia are “naked corals” that arose via skeleton loss during the Cretaceous from a Scleractinian ancestor. Scleractinian paraphyly is, however, contradicted by a number of recent phylogenetic studies based on mt nucleotide (nt) sequence data. Whereas the “naked coral” hypothesis was based on analysis of the sequences of proteins encoded by a relatively small number of mt genomes, here a much-expanded dataset was used to reinvestigate hexacorallian phylogeny. The initial observation was that, whereas analyses based on nt data support scleractinian monophyly, those based on amino acid (aa) data support the “naked coral” hypothesis, irrespective of the method and with very strong support. To better understand the bases of these contrasting results, the effects of systematic errors were examined. Compared to other hexacorallians, the mt genomes of “Robust” corals have a higher (A+T) content, codon usage is far more constrained, and the proteins that they encode have a markedly higher phenylalanine content, leading us to suggest that mt DNA repair may be impaired in this lineage. Thus the “naked coral” topology could be caused by high levels of saturation in these mitochondrial sequences, long-branch effects or model violations. The equivocal results of these extensive analyses highlight the fundamental problems of basing coral phylogeny on mitochondrial sequence data.

Mitogenomics at the base of Metazoa

Unraveling the base of metazoan evolution is of crucial importance for rooting the metazoan Tree of Life. This subject has attracted substantial attention for more than a century and recently fueled a burst of modern phylogenetic studies. Conflicting scenarios from different studies and incongruent results from nuclear versus mitochondrial markers challenge current molecular phylogenetic approaches. Here we analyze the presently most comprehensive data sets of mitochondrial genomes from non-bilaterian animals to illuminate the phylogenetic relationships among early branching metazoan phyla. The results of our analyses illustrate the value of mitogenomics and support previously known topologies between animal phyla but also identify several problematic taxa, which are sensitive to long branch artifacts or missing data.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of the Japanese pink coral (Corallium elatius) and the Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum): a reevaluation of the phylogeny of the family Coralliidae based on molecular data

Precious corals are soft corals belonging to the family Coralliidae (Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) and class Anthozoa, whose skeletal axes are used for jewelry. The family Coralliidae includes ca. 40 species and was originally thought to comprise of the single genus Corallium. In 2003, Corallium was split into two genera, Corallium and Paracorallium, and seven species were moved to this newly identified genus on the bases of morphological features. Previously, we determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of two precious corals Paracorallium japonicum and Corallium konojoi, in order to clarify their systematic positions. The two genomes showed high nucleotide sequence identity, but their gene order arrangements were not identical. Here, we determined three complete mitochondrial genome sequences from the one specimen of Mediterranean Corallium rubrum and two specimens of Corallium elatius coming from Kagoshima (South Japan). The circular mitochondrial genomes of C. rubrum and C. elatius are 18,915bp and 18,969-18,970bp in length, respectively, and encode 14 typical octocorallian protein-coding genes (nad1-6, nad4L, cox1-3, cob, atp6, atp8, and mtMutS, which is an octocoral-specific mismatch repair gene homologue), two ribosomal RNA genes (rns and rnl), and one transfer RNA (trnM). The overall nucleotide differences between C. konojoi and each C. elatius haplotype (T2007 and I2011) are only 10 and 11 nucleotides, respectively; this degree of similarity indicates that C. elatius and C. konojoi are very closely related species. Notably, the C. rubrum mitochondrial genome shows more nucleotide sequence identity to P. japonicum (99.5%) than to its congeneric species C. konojoi (95.3%) and C. elatius (95.3%). Moreover, the gene order arrangement of C. rubrum was the same as that of P. japonicum, while that of C. elatius was the same as C. konojoi. Phylogenetic analysis based on three mitochondrial genes from 24 scleraxonian species shows that the family Coralliidae is separated into two distinct groups, recovering Corallium as a paraphyletic genus. Our results indicate that the currently accepted generic classification of Coralliidae should be reconsidered.

Lophelia pertusa corals from the Ionian and Barents seas share identical nuclear ITS2 and near-identical mitochondrial genome sequences

Background

Lophelia pertusa is a keystone cold-water coral species with a widespread distribution. Due to the lack of a mitochondrial marker variable enough for intraspecific analyses, the population structure of this species has only been studied using ITS and microsatellites so far. We therefore decided to sequence and compare complete mitochondrial genomes from two distant L. pertusa populations putatively isolated from each other (in the Barents Sea off Norway and in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy) in the hope of finding regions variable enough for population genetic and phylogeographic studies.

Results

The mitogenomes of two L. pertusa individuals collected in the Mediterranean and Barents seas differed at only one position, which was a non-synonymous substitution, but comparison with another recently published L. pertusa mitochondrial genome sequence from Norway revealed 18 nucleotide differences. These included two synonymous and nine non-synonymous substitutions in protein-coding genes (dN/dS > 1): hence, the mitogenome of L. pertusa may be experiencing positive selection. To test for the presence of cryptic species, the mitochondrial control region and the nuclear ITS2 were sequenced for five individuals from each site: Italian and Norwegian populations turned out to share haplotypes of both markers, indicating that they belonged to the same species.

Conclusions

L. pertusa corals collected 7,500 km apart shared identical nuclear ITS2 and near-identical mitogenomes, supporting the hypothesis of a recent connection between Lophelia reefs in the Mediterranean and in the Northern Atlantic. Multi-locus or population genomic approaches will be required to shed further light on the genetic connectivity between L. pertusa reefs across Europe; nevertheless, ITS2 and the mitochondrial control region may be useful markers for investigating the phylogeography and species boundaries of the keystone genus Lophelia across its worldwide area of distribution.

Cnidarian phylogenetic relationships as revealed by mitogenomics

BACKGROUND

Cnidaria (corals, sea anemones, hydroids, jellyfish) is a phylum of relatively simple aquatic animals characterized by the presence of the cnidocyst: a cell containing a giant capsular organelle with an eversible tubule (cnida). Species within Cnidaria have life cycles that involve one or both of the two distinct body forms, a typically benthic polyp, which may or may not be colonial, and a typically pelagic mostly solitary medusa. The currently accepted taxonomic scheme subdivides Cnidaria into two main assemblages: Anthozoa (Hexacorallia + Octocorallia) - cnidarians with a reproductive polyp and the absence of a medusa stage - and Medusozoa (Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Staurozoa) - cnidarians that usually possess a reproductive medusa stage. Hypothesized relationships among these taxa greatly impact interpretations of cnidarian character evolution.

RESULTS

We expanded the sampling of cnidarian mitochondrial genomes, particularly from Medusozoa, to reevaluate phylogenetic relationships within Cnidaria. Our phylogenetic analyses based on a mitochogenomic dataset support many prior hypotheses, including monophyly of Hexacorallia, Octocorallia, Medusozoa, Cubozoa, Staurozoa, Hydrozoa, Carybdeida, Chirodropida, and Hydroidolina, but reject the monophyly of Anthozoa, indicating that the Octocorallia + Medusozoa relationship is not the result of sampling bias, as proposed earlier. Further, our analyses contradict Scyphozoa [Discomedusae + Coronatae], Acraspeda [Cubozoa + Scyphozoa], as well as the hypothesis that Staurozoa is the sister group to all the other medusozoans.

CONCLUSIONS

Cnidarian mitochondrial genomic data contain phylogenetic signal informative for understanding the evolutionary history of this phylum. Mitogenome-based phylogenies, which reject the monophyly of Anthozoa, provide further evidence for the polyp-first hypothesis. By rejecting the traditional Acraspeda and Scyphozoa hypotheses, these analyses suggest that the shared morphological characters in these groups are plesiomorphies, originated in the branch leading to Medusozoa. The expansion of mitogenomic data along with improvements in phylogenetic inference methods and use of additional nuclear markers will further enhance our understanding of the phylogenetic relationships and character evolution within Cnidaria.

Molecular and morphological data support reclassification of the octocoral genus Isidoides

The rare octocoral genus Isidoides Nutting, 1910 was originally placed in the Gorgonellidae (now the Ellisellidae), even though it showed a remarkable similarity to the Isidae (now the Isididae). Isidoides was not classified in the Isididae mostly because the type specimen lacked skeletal nodes, a defining characteristic of that family. The genus was later assigned to the Chrysogorgiidae based on sclerite morphology. Specimens were recently collected in the south-western Pacific, providing material for genetic analysis and detailed characterisation of the morphology, and allowing us to consider the systematic placement of this taxon within the suborder Calcaxonia. A previously reported phylogeny allowed us to reject monophyly with the Chrysogorgiidae, and infer a close relationship with the Isididae subfamily Keratoisidinae. While scanning for molecular variation across mitochondrial genes, we discovered a novel gene order that is, based on available data, unique among metazoans. Despite these new data, the systematic placement of Isidoides is still unclear, as (1) the phylogenetic relationships among Isididae subfamilies remain poorly resolved, (2) genetic distances between mitochondrial mtMutS sequences from Isidoides and Keratoisidinae are characteristic of intra-familial distances, and (3) mitochondrial gene rearrangements may occur among confamilial genera. For these reasons, and because a revision of the Isididae is beyond the scope of this contribution, we amend the familial placement of Isidoides to incertae sedis.

DNA barcoding methods for invertebrates

Invertebrates comprise approximately 34 phyla, while vertebrates represent one subphylum and insects a (very large) class. Thus, the clades excepting vertebrates and insects encompass almost all of animal diversity. Consequently, the barcoding challenge in invertebrates is that of barcoding animals in general. While standard extraction, cleaning, PCR methods, and universal primers work for many taxa, taxon-specific challenges arise because of the shear genetic and biochemical diversity present across the kingdom, and because problems arising as a result of this diversity, and solutions to them, are still poorly characterized for many metazoan clades. The objective of this chapter is to emphasize general approaches, and give practical advice for overcoming the diverse challenges that may be encountered across animal taxa, but we stop short of providing an exhaustive inventory. Rather, we encourage researchers, especially those working on poorly studied taxa, to carefully consider methodological issues presented below, when standard approaches perform poorly.

The mitochondrial genome of Paraminabea aldersladei (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia) supports intramolecular recombination as the primary mechanism of gene rearrangement in octocoral mitochondrial genomes

Sequencing of the complete mitochondrial genome of the soft coral Paraminabea aldersladei (Alcyoniidae) revealed a unique gene order, the fifth mt gene arrangement now known within the cnidarian subclass Octocorallia. At 19,886 bp, the mt genome of P. aldersladei is the second largest known for octocorals; its gene content and nucleotide composition are, however, identical to most other octocorals, and the additional length is due to the presence of two large, noncoding intergenic regions. Relative to the presumed ancestral octocoral gene order, in P. aldersladei a block of three protein-coding genes (nad6–nad3–nad4l) has been translocated and inverted. Mapping the distribution of mt gene arrangements onto a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny of Octocorallia suggests that all of the known octocoral gene orders have evolved by successive inversions of one or more evolutionarily conserved blocks of protein-coding genes. This mode of genome evolution is unique among Metazoa, and contrasts strongly with that observed in Hexacorallia, in which extreme gene shuffling has occurred among taxonomic orders. Two of the four conserved gene blocks found in Octocorallia are, however, also conserved in the linear mt genomes of Medusozoa and in one group of Demospongiae. We speculate that the rate and mechanism of gene rearrangement in octocorals may be influenced by the presence in their mt genomes of mtMutS, a putatively active DNA mismatch repair protein that may also play a role in mediating intramolecular recombination.

A unique tRNA gene family and a novel, highly expressed ORF in the mitochondrial genome of the silver-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada maxima (Bivalvia: Pteriidae)

Characteristics of mitochondrial (mt) DNA such as gene content and arrangement, as well as mt tRNA secondary structure, are frequently used in comparative genomic analyses because they provide valuable phylogenetic information. However, most analyses do not characterize the relationship of tRNA genes from the same mt genome and, in some cases, analyses overlook possible novel open reading frames (ORFs) when the 13 expected protein-coding genes are already annotated. In this study, we describe the sequence and characterization of the complete mt genome of the silver-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada maxima. The 16,994-bp mt genome contains the same 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) and two ribosomal RNA genes typical of metazoans. The gene arrangement, however, is completely distinct from that of all other available bivalve mt genomes, and a unique tRNA gene family is observed in this genome. The unique tRNA gene family includes two trnS(-AGY) and trnQ genes, a trnM isomerism, but it lacks trnS(-CUN). We also report the first clear evidence of alloacceptor tRNA gene recruitment (trnP→trnS(-AGY)) in mollusks. In addition, a novel ORF (orfUR1) expressed at high levels is present in the mt genome of this pearl oyster. This gene contains a conserved domain, "Oxidored_q1_N", which is a member of Complex I and thus may play an important role in key biological functions. Because orfUR1 has a very similar nucleotide composition and codon bias to that of other genes in this genome, we hypothesize that this gene may have been moved to the mt genome via gene transfer from the nuclear genome at an early stage of speciation of P. maxima, or it may have evolved as a result of gene duplication, followed by rapid sequence divergence. Lastly, a 319-bp region was identified as the possible control region (CR) even though it does not correspond to the longest non-coding region in the genome. Unlike other studies of mt genomes, this study compares the evolutionary patterns of all available bivalve mt tRNA and atp8 genes.

Novel organization of the mitochondrial genome in the deep-sea coral, Madrepora oculata (Hexacorallia, Scleractinia, Oculinidae) and its taxonomic implications

Madrepora is one of the most ecologically important genera of reef-building scleractinians in the deep sea, occurring from tropical to high-latitude regions. Despite this, the taxonomic affinities and relationships within the genus Madrepora remain unclear. To clarify these issues, we sequenced the mitochondrial (mt) genome of the most widespread Madrepora species, M. oculata, and compared this with data for other scleractinians. The architecture of the M. oculata mt genome was very similar to that of other scleractinians, except for a novel gene rearrangement affecting only cox2 and cox3. This pattern of gene organization was common to four geographically distinct M. oculata individuals as well as the congeneric species M. minutiseptum, but was not shared by other genera that are closely related on the basis of cox1 sequence analysis nor other oculinids, suggesting that it might be unique to Madrepora.

Evolution of linear mitochondrial genomes in medusozoan cnidarians

In nearly all animals, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) consists of a single circular molecule that encodes several subunits of the protein complexes involved in oxidative phosphorylation as well as part of the machinery for their expression. By contrast, mtDNA in species belonging to Medusozoa (one of the two major lineages in the phylum Cnidaria) comprises one to several linear molecules. Many questions remain on the ubiquity of linear mtDNA in medusozoans and the mechanisms responsible for its evolution, replication, and transcription. To address some of these questions, we determined the sequences of nearly complete linear mtDNA from 24 species representing all four medusozoan classes: Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, and Staurozoa. All newly determined medusozoan mitochondrial genomes harbor the 17 genes typical for cnidarians and map as linear molecules with a high degree of gene order conservation relative to the anthozoans. In addition, two open reading frames (ORFs), polB and ORF314, are identified in cubozoan, schyphozoan, staurozoan, and trachyline hydrozoan mtDNA. polB belongs to the B-type DNA polymerase gene family, while the product of ORF314 may act as a terminal protein that binds telomeres. We posit that these two ORFs are remnants of a linear plasmid that invaded the mitochondrial genomes of the last common ancestor of Medusozoa and are responsible for its linearity. Hydroidolinan hydrozoans have lost the two ORFs and instead have duplicated cox1 at each end of their mitochondrial chromosome(s). Fragmentation of mtDNA occurred independently in Cubozoa and Hydridae (Hydrozoa, Hydroidolina). Our broad sampling allows us to reconstruct the evolutionary history of linear mtDNA in medusozoans.

Incongruence between morphotypes and genetically delimited species in the coral genus Stylophora: phenotypic plasticity, morphological convergence, morphological stasis or interspecific hybridization?

BACKGROUND

Morphological data suggest that, unlike most other groups of marine organisms, scleractinian corals of the genus Stylophora are more diverse in the western Indian Ocean and in the Red Sea than in the central Indo-Pacific. However, the morphology of corals is often a poor predictor of their actual biodiversity: hence, we conducted a genetic survey of Stylophora corals collected in Madagascar, Okinawa, the Philippines and New Caledonia in an attempt to find out the true number of species in these various locations.

RESULTS

A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial ORF and putative control region concurs with a haploweb analysis of nuclear ITS2 sequences in delimiting three species among our dataset: species A and B are found in Madagascar whereas species C occurs in Okinawa, the Philippines and New Caledonia. Comparison of ITS1 sequences from these three species with data available online suggests that species C is also found on the Great Barrier Reef, in Malaysia, in the South China Sea and in Taiwan, and that a distinct species D occurs in the Red Sea. Shallow-water morphs of species A correspond to the morphological description of Stylophora madagascarensis, species B presents the morphology of Stylophora mordax, whereas species C comprises various morphotypes including Stylophora pistillata and Stylophora mordax.

CONCLUSIONS

Genetic analysis of the coral genus Stylophora reveals species boundaries that are not congruent with morphological traits. Of the four hypotheses that may explain such discrepancy (phenotypic plasticity, morphological stasis, morphological convergence, and interspecific hybridization), the first two appear likely to play a role but the fourth one is rejected since mitochondrial and nuclear markers yield congruent species delimitations. The position of the root in our molecular phylogenies suggests that the center of origin of Stylophora is located in the western Indian Ocean, which probably explains why this genus presents a higher biodiversity in the westernmost part of its area of distribution than in the "Coral Triangle".

Mitogenome rearrangement in the cold-water scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) involves a long-term evolving group I intron

Group I introns are genetic insertion elements that invade host genomes in a wide range of organisms. In metazoans, however, group I introns are extremely rare, so far only identified within mitogenomes of hexacorals and some sponges. We sequenced the complete mitogenome of the cold-water scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa, the dominating deep sea reef-building coral species in the North Atlantic Ocean. The mitogenome (16,150 bp) has the same gene content but organized in a unique gene order compared to that of other known scleractinian corals. A complex group I intron (6460 bp) inserted in the ND5 gene (position 717) was found to host seven essential mitochondrial protein genes and one ribosomal RNA gene. Phylogenetic analysis supports a vertical inheritance pattern of the ND5-717 intron among hexacoral mitogenomes with no examples of intron loss. Structural assessments of the Lophelia intron revealed an unusual organization that lacks the universally conserved ωG at the 3' end, as well as a highly compact RNA core structure with overlapping ribozyme and protein coding capacities. Based on phylogenetic and structural analyses we reconstructed the evolutionary history of ND5-717, from its ancestral protist origin, through intron loss in some early metazoan lineages, and into a compulsory feature with functional implications in hexacorals.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Calicogorgia granulosa (Anthozoa: Octocorallia): potential gene novelty in unidentified ORFs formed by repeat expansion and segmental duplication

Mitochondrial genomes of many nonbilaterian animals show high diversity of genome size and gene content, revealing many intergenic regions (IGRs), diverse repeats and additional genes. Here we present a new complete mitogenome of the cnidarian sea fan species, Calicogorgia granulosa (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) and its novel genomic features. The 20,246 bp of the complete mitogenome, which is the largest among the nine octocorals sequenced to date, contains 13 protein coding genes, 2 rRNAs and a tRNA within its circular form of mitochondrial DNA. We found an identical segmental duplication (S1 and S2, 913 bp) composed of an ORF (672 bp) coding for a hypothetical protein within which Direct Variant Repeat (DVR) expansions reside in-frame to the coding sequence. Additionally, the duplicated segmental DNA showed no variation in nucleotide sequences both between S1 and S2 and across multiple individual samples. Upon these observations, we discuss plausible causes for the intramitochondrial segmental duplication and the absence of sequence variation, and a need for further investigation of the novel ORF as well. In conclusion the present mitogenome of C. granulosa adds more information to our understanding of the diversity and evolution of mitogenomes of nonbilaterian animals.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of two Japanese precious corals, Paracorallium japonicum and Corallium konojoi (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Coralliidae): notable differences in gene arrangement

Precious coral are taxonomically a group of corals that belong to the family Coralliidae within the order Alcyonacea, subclass Octocorallia, and class Anthozoa, whose skeletal axes are used for jewelry. They are distributed in the Mediterranean Sea and in waters adjacent to Japan, Taiwan, Midway Island and the Hawaiian Islands. The genus Corallium of the family Coralliidae was recently divided into two genera, Corallium and Paracorallium, based on morphological observations, but insufficient molecular evidence to support this classification has been presented to date. We determined for the first time the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of two precious corals P. japonicum and C. konojoi, in order to clarify their systematic positions. The circular mitochondrial genomes of P. japonicum and C. konojoi are 18,913bp and 18,969bp in length, respectively, and encode 13 typical energy pathway protein coding genes (nad1-6, nad4L, cox1-3, cob, atp6 and atp8), two ribosomal RNA genes (rns and rnl), a transfer RNA (trnM) and a mismatch repair gene homologue msh1. The two genomes have an overall nucleotide sequence identity of 97.5%, which is comparable to that between Acanella eburnea and Keratoisidinae sp. belonging to Octocorallia. Surprisingly, however, their gene arrangements were not identical. Phylogenetic analyses using seven complete mitochondrial genome sequences belonging to species in the subclass Octocorallia indicated that within the subclass, at least three gene order rearrangement events occurred during evolution. Our results support the validity of the morphological classification that separated the family Coralliidae into two genera, Corallium and Paracorallium.

Using morphometrics, in situ observations and genetic characters to distinguish among commercially valuable Hawaiian black coral species; a redescription of Antipathes grandis Verrill, 1928 (Antipatharia:Antipathidae)

The commercially valuable Hawaiian black coral Antipathes grandis Verrill, 1928 is redescribed based on reexamination of the holotype from the Bernice P. Bishop Museum and field collections of 34 specimens from depths of 27–127 m. The first scanning electron micrographs of A. grandis skeletal spines are provided, along with a series of in situ colour photographs and morphometric measurements of spines and polyps. Three colour morphotypes were collected in the field (red, pale red, and white), none of which could be differentiated based on morphological or genetic characters (two mitochondrial and two nuclear markers). In situ observations are used in conjunction with morphological and genetic characters to distinguish among the commercially valuable Hawaiian black coral species A. grandis and A. griggi Opresko, 2009. A. grandis is differentiated from A. griggi by its finer and more irregular branching, smaller and more closely-spaced polyps, and conical spines that are smaller and not characterised by bifurcations towards their apex. Morphologically, the species most closely resembling A. grandis is A. caribbeana Opresko, 1996 from the Caribbean. Among analysed congenerics, DNA sequences of A. grandis were likewise most similar to those of A. caribbeana for three of the four molecular markers used in this study. A combination of low genetic variability, incomplete taxonomic sampling, and unexpected similarity between A. caribbeana and the unbranched whip coral Stichopathes cf. occidentalis (Gray, 1860), hindered our ability to determine the sister relationship of A. grandis. However, in no phylogenetic reconstruction did A. grandis group sister to its sympatric congener A. griggi.