New evidence for morphological and genetic variation in the cosmopolitan coccolithophore Emiliana huxleyi (prymnesiophyceae) from the cox1b-ATP4 genes

TitleNew evidence for morphological and genetic variation in the cosmopolitan coccolithophore Emiliana huxleyi (prymnesiophyceae) from the cox1b-ATP4 genes
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2011
AuthorsHagino K, Bendif EMahdi, Young J, Kogame K, Takano Y, Probert I, Horiguchi T, de Vargas C, Okada H
JournalJournal of Phycology
Volume47
Pagination1164–1176
Keywords2011, rcc, SBR$_\textrmP$hyto$_\textrmE$PPO, sbr?hyto?ppo
Abstract

Emiliania huxleyi (Lohmann) Hay et Mohler is a cosmopolitan coccolithophore occurring from tropical to subpolar waters and exhibiting variations in morphology of coccoliths possibly related to environmental conditions. We examined morphological characters of coccoliths and partial mitochondrial sequences of the cytochrome oxidase 1b (cox1b) through adenosine triphosphate synthase 4 (atp4) genes of thirty-nine clonal E. huxleyi strains from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Mediterranean Sea and their adjacent seas. Based on the morphological study of culture strains by SEM, Type O, a new morphotype characterized by coccoliths with an open central area, was separated from existing morphotypes A, B, B/C, C, R and var. corona, characterized by coccoliths with central area elements. Molecular phylogenetic studies revealed that E. huxleyi consists of at least two mitochondrial sequence groups with different temperature preferences/tolerances: a cool water group occurring in subarctic North Atlantic and Pacific and a warm water group occurring in the sub-tropical Atlantic and Pacific and in the Mediterranean Sea.

DOI10.1111/j.1529-8817.2011.01053.x