Historical isolation and contemporary gene flow drive population diversity of the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii along the coast of China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Long-term survival in isolated marginal seas of the China coast during the late Pleistocene ice ages is widely believed to be an important historical factor contributing to population genetic structure in coastal marine species. Whether or not contemporary factors (e.g. long-distance dispersal via coastal currents) continue to shape diversity gradients in marine organisms with high dispersal capability remains poorly understood. Our aim was to explore how historical and contemporary factors influenced the genetic diversity and distribution of the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii, which can drift on surface water, leading to long-distance dispersal.

Results

We used 11 microsatellites and the plastid RuBisCo spacer to evaluate the genetic diversity of 22 Sargassum th

SUBMITTER: Li JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5721624 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature