title: Molecular biodiversity of Red Sea demosponges.
abstract: Sponges are important constituents of coral reef ecosystems, including those around the Arabian Peninsula. Despite their importance, our knowledge on demosponge diversity in this area is insufficient to recognize, for example, faunal changes caused by anthropogenic disturbances. We here report the first assessment of demosponge molecular biodiversity from Arabia, with focus on the Saudi Arabian Red Sea, based on mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal molecular markers gathered in the framework of the Sponge Barcoding Project. We use a rapid molecular screening approach on Arabian demosponge collections and analyze results in comparison against published material in terms of biodiversity. We use a variable region of 28S rDNA, applied for the first time in the assessment of demosponge molecular diversity. Our data constitutes a solid foundation for a future more comprehensive understanding of sponge biodiversity of the Red Sea and adjacent waters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany; GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: erpenbeck@lmu.de.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erpenbeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80207, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ali M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Al-Aidaroos
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Berumen
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Büttner
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Catania
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80207, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Adel Naguib
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Guirguis
authors.affiliation: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Gustav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paulay
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schätzle
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany; GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany; Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: woerheide@lmu.de.
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wörheide
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D015730:Djibouti; D019156:Indian Ocean; D010802:Phylogeny; D011161:Porifera / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S
keywords: 28S rDNA; Biodiversity; Molecular diversity; Porifera; Red Sea; Sponges