Affiliations 

  • 1 Bachok Marine Research Station, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 16310 Bachok, Kelantan, Malaysia. Electronic address: cpleaw@um.edu.my
  • 2 Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 3 Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Johor Branch, 85000 Segamat, Johor, Malaysia
  • 4 Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 5 Bachok Marine Research Station, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 16310 Bachok, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 6 Cawthron Institute, New Zealand
  • 7 Department of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, University of Wuerzburg, D-97074 Wuerzburg, Germany
  • 8 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Centers for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
  • 9 JHT, Inc., Orlando, FL, USA
  • 10 Third Institute of Oceanography, SOA, 178 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China
  • 11 Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Harmful Algae, 2016 05;55:137-149.
PMID: 28073527 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2016.02.010

Abstract

In this study, inter- and intraspecific genetic diversity within the marine harmful dinoflagellate genus Coolia Meunier was evaluated using isolates obtained from the tropics to subtropics in both Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. The aim was to assess the phylogeographic history of the genus and to clarify the validity of established species including Coolia malayensis. Phylogenetic analysis of the D1-D2 LSU rDNA sequences identified six major lineages (L1-L6) corresponding to the morphospecies Coolia malayensis (L1), C. monotis (L2), C. santacroce (L3), C. palmyrensis (L4), C. tropicalis (L5), and C. canariensis (L6). A median joining network (MJN) of C. malayensis ITS2 rDNA sequences revealed a total of 16 haplotypes; however, no spatial genetic differentiation among populations was observed. These MJN results in conjunction with CBC analysis, rDNA phylogenies and geographical distribution analyses confirm C. malayensis as a distinct species which is globally distributed in the tropical to warm-temperate regions. A molecular clock analysis using ITS2 rDNA revealed the evolutionary history of Coolia dated back to the Mesozoic, and supports the hypothesis that historical vicariant events in the early Cenozoic drove the allopatric differentiation of C. malayensis and C. monotis.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.