Genetic identification and hybridization in the seagrass genus Halophila (Hydrocharitaceae) in Sri Lankan waters.

ABSTRACT: Seagrasses, as marine angiosperms, play important roles in coastal ecosystems. With increasing anthropogenic impacts, they are facing dramatic declines on a global scale. Halophila is well-known as a complex taxonomic challenge mainly due to high morphological plasticity. By using only a morphological approach, the genus could be over-split or similar species could be erroneously lumped, thus masking its true biodiversity. In the present study, we incorporated genetic identification with morphological examination to reveal the identity of Halophila plants in southern and northwestern Sri Lankan waters. The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and chloroplast ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase gene (rbcL) were used to identify plants collected from the Gul

SUBMITTER: Liu SYV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7532775 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature