Genetic identification and evolutionary trends of the seagrass Halophila nipponica in temperate coastal waters of Korea.

ABSTRACT: Although seagrass species in the genus Halophila are generally distributed in tropical or subtropical regions, H. nipponica has been reported to occur in temperate coastal waters of the northwestern Pacific. Because H. nipponica occurs only in the warm temperate areas influenced by the Kuroshio Current and shows a tropical seasonal growth pattern, such as severely restricted growth in low water temperatures, it was hypothesized that this temperate Halophila species diverged from tropical species in the relatively recent evolutionary past. We used a phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions to examine the genetic variability and evolutionary trend of H. nipponica. ITS sequences of H. nipponica from various locations in Korea and Japan were identical or showed very l

SUBMITTER: Kim YK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5432184 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature