Tracking the Phylogeny of Seagrasses

Inferred from 18S rRNA Gene and Ancestral State Reconstruction of Morphological Data

authored by: Elangovan Dilipan, Christina Lucas, Jutta Papenbrock, Thirunavukarassu Thangaradjou
Abstract: Taxonomic challenges of seagrasses were met by using 18S ribosomal subunit of ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (18S rDNA) sequence data of 14 seagrass species from India and two temperate species from Germany. The phylogenetic trees presented are based on the 18S rDNA sequence analysis of 41 nucleotide sequences including sequences obtained in the present study as well as previously published sequences of freshwater and saltmarsh plants, and seagrasses for identifying the evolutionary lineage. The 18S rDNA data indicates independent origin of temperate and tropical seagrasses with the genus Halophila as the intermediate group for both the regions. Based on the complex morphological structures the Halophila group represents the basal form among seagrasses whereas Enhalus is considered to be the most recently originated seagrass species. In that context, the marine Hydrocharitaceae group of Enhalus, Thalassia and Halophila has been proposed to be separated into two groups such as Enhalus/Thalassia and Halophila subfamilies. Hence, the present systematic studies warrant a revised taxonomy for seagrasses, which better reflects the phylogenetic results obtained from molecular and conventional data.
Organisation(s): Institute of Botany
External Organisation(s): Annamalai University
Shimadzu Deutschland GmbH
Type: Article
Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences India Section B - Biological Sciences
Volume: 88
Pages: 497-504
No. of pages: 8
ISSN: 0369-8211
Publication date: 17.08.2018
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General Environmental Science, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 14 - Life Below Water
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-016-0780-5 (Access: Closed)