Local adaptation and oceanographic connectivity patterns explain genetic differentiation of a marine diatom across the North Sea-Baltic Sea salinity gradient.

ABSTRACT: Drivers of population genetic structure are still poorly understood in marine micro-organisms. We exploited the North Sea-Baltic Sea transition for investigating the seascape genetics of a marine diatom, Skeletonema marinoi. Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were analysed in 354 individuals from ten locations to analyse population structure of the species along a 1500-km-long salinity gradient ranging from 3 to 30 psu. To test for salinity adaptation, salinity reaction norms were determined for sets of strains originating from three different salinity regimes of the gradient. Modelled oceanographic connectivity was compared to directional relative migration by correlation analyses to examine oceanographic drivers. Population genetic analyses showed distinct genetic divergence of a low-

SUBMITTER: Sjoqvist C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4692096 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature