Diversity of the rotiferBrachionus plicatilisspecies complex (Rotifera: Monogononta) in Iran through integrative taxonomy

Salinity-dependent top-down effect of rotifer Brachionus plicatilis on removing harmful alga Phaeocystis globosa

Using appropriate zooplankton to transfer the primary productivity of harmful algae to higher trophic levels through food chain is an eco-friendly mode to remove harmful algae. To assess the top-down efficiency of rotifer removing Phaeocystis and the salinity effect, we adopted a series of salinities to carry out Phaeocystis-rotifer population dynamics and rotifer life-history experiments. Results showed that the time for rotifers to remove Phaeocystis population was the shortest when the salinity was ≤20 ‰. With salinity rising to above 25 ‰, although the clearance time of Phaeocystis population by rotifer was significantly prolonged, ultimately the Phaeocystis population were almost completely eliminated at all salinities. Additionally, rotifer matured and reproduced earlier at low salinity, while high salinity significantly delayed first reproductive time and decreased the total offspring. The above findings are helpful to assess the impacts of external environmental factors on the application of zooplankton to control harmful algae.

First Insights into the Repertoire of Secretory Lectins in Rotifers

Due to their high biodiversity and adaptation to a mutable and challenging environment, aquatic lophotrochozoan animals are regarded as a virtually unlimited source of bioactive molecules. Among these, lectins, i.e., proteins with remarkable carbohydrate-recognition properties involved in immunity, reproduction, self/nonself recognition and several other biological processes, are particularly attractive targets for biotechnological research. To date, lectin research in the Lophotrochozoa has been restricted to the most widespread phyla, which are the usual targets of comparative immunology studies, such as Mollusca and Annelida. Here we provide the first overview of the repertoire of the secretory lectin-like molecules encoded by the genomes of six target rotifer species: Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus plicatilis, Proales similis (class Monogononta), Adineta ricciae, Didymodactylos carnosus and Rotaria sordida (class Bdelloidea). Overall, while rotifer secretory lectins display a high molecular diversity and belong to nine different structural classes, their total number is significantly lower than for other groups of lophotrochozoans, with no evidence of lineage-specific expansion events. Considering the high evolutionary divergence between rotifers and the other major sister phyla, their widespread distribution in aquatic environments and the ease of their collection and rearing in laboratory conditions, these organisms may represent interesting targets for glycobiological studies, which may allow the identification of novel carbohydrate-binding proteins with peculiar biological properties.

Rotifers of Bahia State, Brazil: News records and limitations to studies

A first checklist of Rotifera species in freshwater environments in Bahia State, in northeastern Brazil, is provided. The list includes sampling data from 26 aquatic environments (lotic and lentic) undertaken from 2010 to 2016. One hundred and fifty-five species were recorded, with 68 new records for the state. The family Brachionidae and Lecanidae were the most representative (54.8%). The greatest richness was recorded in the Colônia River (57 species). Those results reflect the low numbers of studies previously undertaken in the region, indicating more research needs to be focused on Rotifera biodiversity in Bahia, the fifth largest state in Brazil (567,295 km2) with large numbers of freshwater bodies.

Small, but surprisingly repetitive genomes: transposon expansion and not polyploidy has driven a doubling in genome size in a metazoan species complex

BACKGROUND

The causes and consequences of genome size variation across Eukaryotes, which spans five orders of magnitude, have been hotly debated since before the advent of genome sequencing. Previous studies have mostly examined variation among larger taxonomic units (e.g., orders, or genera), while comparisons among closely related species are rare. Rotifers of the Brachionus plicatilis species complex exhibit a seven-fold variation in genome size and thus represent a unique opportunity to study such changes on a relatively short evolutionary timescale. Here, we sequenced and analysed the genomes of four species of this complex with nuclear DNA contents spanning 110-422 Mbp. To establish the likely mechanisms of genome size change, we analysed both sequencing read libraries and assemblies for signatures of polyploidy and repetitive element content. We also compared these genomes to that of B. calyciflorus, the closest relative with a sequenced genome (293 Mbp nuclear DNA content).

RESULTS

Despite the very large differences in genome size, we saw no evidence of ploidy level changes across the B. plicatilis complex. However, repetitive element content explained a large portion of genome size variation (at least 54%). The species with the largest genome, B. asplanchnoidis, has a strikingly high 44% repetitive element content, while the smaller B. plicatilis genomes contain between 14 and 25% repetitive elements. According to our analyses, the B. calyciflorus genome contains 39% repetitive elements, which is substantially higher than previously reported (21%), and suggests that high repetitive element load could be widespread in monogonont rotifers.

CONCLUSIONS

Even though the genome sizes of these species are at the low end of the metazoan spectrum, their genomes contain substantial amounts of repetitive elements. Polyploidy does not appear to play a role in genome size variations in these species, and these variations can be mostly explained by changes in repetitive element content. This contradicts the naïve expectation that small genomes are streamlined, or less complex, and that large variations in nuclear DNA content between closely related species are due to polyploidy.

Evidence supporting cryptic species within two sessile microinvertebrates, Limnias melicerta and L. ceratophylli (Rotifera, Gnesiotrocha)

Microorganisms, including rotifers, are thought to be capable of long distance dispersal. Therefore, they should show little population genetic structure due to high gene flow. Nevertheless, substantial genetic structure has been reported among populations of many taxa. In rotifers, genetic studies have focused on planktonic taxa leaving sessile groups largely unexplored. Here, we used COI gene and ITS region sequences to study genetic structure and delimit cryptic species in two sessile species (Limnias melicerta [32 populations]; L. ceratophylli [21 populations]). Among populations, ITS region sequences were less variable as compared to those of the COI gene (ITS; L. melicerta: 0-3.1% and L. ceratophylli: 0-4.4%; COI; L. melicerta: 0-22.7% and L. ceratophylli: 0-21.7%). Moreover, L. melicerta and L. ceratophylli were not resolved in phylogenetic analyses based on ITS sequences. Thus, we used COI sequences for species delimitation. Bayesian Species Delimitation detected nine putative cryptic species within L. melicerta and four putative cryptic species for L. ceratophylli. The genetic distance in the COI gene was 0-15.4% within cryptic species of L. melicerta and 0.5-0.6% within cryptic species of L. ceratophylli. Among cryptic species, COI genetic distance ranged 8.1-21.9% for L. melicerta and 15.1-21.2% for L. ceratophylli. The correlation between geographic and genetic distance was weak or lacking; thus geographic isolation cannot be considered a strong driver of genetic variation. In addition, geometric morphometric analyses of trophi did not show significant variation among cryptic species. In this study we used a conservative approach for species delimitation, yet we were able to show that species diversity in these sessile rotifers is underestimated.

DNA barcoding and traditional taxonomy: an integrated approach for biodiversity conservation

Biological diversity is depleting at an alarming rate. Additionally, a vast amount of biodiversity still remains undiscovered. Taxonomy has been serving the purpose of describing, naming, and classifying species for more than 250 years. DNA taxonomy and barcoding have accelerated the rate of this process, thereby providing a tool for conservation practice. DNA barcoding and traditional taxonomy have their own inherent merits and demerits. The synergistic use of both methods, in the form of integrative taxonomy, has the potential to contribute to biodiversity conservation in a pragmatic timeframe and overcome their individual drawbacks. In this review, we discuss the basics of both these methods of biological identification (traditional taxonomy and DNA barcoding), the technical advances in integrative taxonomy, and future trends. We also present a comprehensive compilation of published examples of integrative taxonomy that refer to nine topics within biodiversity conservation. Morphological and molecular species limits were observed to be congruent in ∼41% of the 58 source studies. The majority of the studies highlighted the description of cryptic diversity through the use of molecular data, whereas research areas like endemism, biological invasion, and threatened species were less discussed in the literature.

Sexual species are separated by larger genetic gaps than asexual species in rotifers

Why organisms diversify into discrete species instead of showing a continuum of genotypic and phenotypic forms is an important yet rarely studied question in speciation biology. Does species discreteness come from adaptation to fill discrete niches or from interspecific gaps generated by reproductive isolation? We investigate the importance of reproductive isolation by comparing genetic discreteness, in terms of intra- and interspecific variation, between facultatively sexual monogonont rotifers and obligately asexual bdelloid rotifers. We calculated the age (phylogenetic distance) and average pairwise genetic distance (raw distance) within and among evolutionarily significant units of diversity in six bdelloid clades and seven monogonont clades sampled for 4211 individuals in total. We find that monogonont species are more discrete than bdelloid species with respect to divergence between species but exhibit similar levels of intraspecific variation (species cohesiveness). This pattern arises because bdelloids have diversified into discrete genetic clusters at a faster net rate than monogononts. Although sampling biases or differences in ecology that are independent of sexuality might also affect these patterns, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that bdelloids diversified at a faster rate into less discrete species because their diversification does not depend on the evolution of reproductive isolation.