Meeting Abstract

121.6  Monday, Jan. 7  Population genetics of the symbiotic sea anemone Aiptasia sp. GRAJALES, A*; RODRIGUEZ, E; American Museum of Natural History agrajales@amnh.org

Sea anemones (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria) belonging to the genus Aiptasia have been used as a model organism in an increasing number of studies detailing mutualism of dinoflagellate-cnidarian symbiosis, bleaching mechanisms, and invertebrate reproduction. Despite its use in several disciplines of biology, many basic evolutionary and ecological aspects of the genus are still unknown. The latest taxonomic revision revealed 16 valid species distributed on tropical and subtropical shallow marine environments worldwide. However, current descriptions of most species are incomplete by modern standards and phylogenetic analyses are nonexistent. Preliminary studies including morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetics have revealed that this model organism is actually a single cosmopolitan, presumably invasive species. The genetic structure of the species was explored using 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci specifically developed for this project from a pyrosequencing EST library. More than 400 individuals within the genus Aiptasia have been collected through an extensive sampling effort that encompasses the entire distribution of the 16 currently described species. Specifically we aimed to discriminate distinct population across the globe, and to test different hypothesis that help explain its extreme widespread distribution.