Long-range dispersal and high-latitude environments influence the population structure of a "stress-tolerant" dinoflagellate endosymbiont.

ABSTRACT: The migration and dispersal of stress-tolerant symbiotic dinoflagellates (genus Symbiodinium) may influence the response of symbiotic reef-building corals to a warming climate. We analyzed the genetic structure of the stress-tolerant endosymbiont, Symbiodinium glynni nomen nudum (ITS2 - D1), obtained from Pocillopora colonies that dominate eastern Pacific coral communities. Eleven microsatellite loci identified genotypically diverse populations with minimal genetic subdivision throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific, encompassing 1000's of square kilometers from mainland Mexico to the Galapagos Islands. The lack of population differentiation over these distances corresponds with extensive regional host connectivity and indicates that Pocillopora larvae, which maternally inherit their symbi

SUBMITTER: Pettay DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3818422 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature