Phylogenetic position of a deep-sea ascidian, Megalodicopia hians, inferred from the molecular data.
Ascidians inhabit both shallow water and the deep sea. The phylogenetic position of deep-sea ascidians has not been sufficiently investigated because of their unusual habitats. The family Octacnemidae is one such enigmatic deep-sea ascidian. In this report, we determined the sequences of the 18SrDNA and a mitochondrial protein gene of Megalodicopia hians belonging to the family Octacnemidae, and we analyzed its phylogenetic relationship with other ascidians. A phylogenetic relationship of this family with the families Cionidae and/or Corellidae has been suspected based on a small number of morphological characteristics. However, our results suggested that M. hians has a close relationship to the family Corellidae and might originate from them. This is the first report of the molecular phylogenetic analysis of a deep-sea ascidian.
Kurabayashi
Atsushi
A
Department of Biology, Keio University, Hiyoshi, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. kuraba@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Okuyama
Makiko
M
Ogawa
Mari
M
Takeuchi
Akira
A
Jing
Zhang
Z
Naganuma
Takeshi
T
Saito
Yasunori
Y
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014561:Urochordata / Q000235:genetics*
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal