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Genetic polymorphism in Caulerpa taxifolia (Ulvophyceae) chloroplast DNA revealed by a PCR‐based assay of the invasive Mediterranean strain
Author(s) -
. Famà P,
Jousson O.,
Zaninetti L.,
Meinesz A.,
Dini F.,
Di Giuseppe G.,
Millar A. J. K.,
Pawlowski J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2002.00418.x
Subject(s) - biology , internal transcribed spacer , ulvophyceae , ribosomal dna , ribosomal rna , strain (injury) , chloroplast dna , botany , chloroplast , gene , genetics , phylogenetics , algae , chlorophyta , anatomy
An invasive, cold‐tolerant strain of the tropical green alga Caulerpa taxifolia was introduced recently in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Californian coast. We screened 50 aquarium and open‐sea C. taxifolia specimens for the presence/absence of an intron located in the rbc L gene of chloroplast DNA. We also reanalysed a total of 229 sequences of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA, combining previously published sequences from different studies with 68 new sequences to complement rbc L data. The introduced Mediterranean strain was found to be characterized by the absence of the rbc L intron and by the occurrence of a particular monomorphic ITS type. A PCR assay based on rbc L gene was developed to detect new introductions of the invasive strain of C. taxifolia . This rapid and inexpensive test could be useful to assist environment managers in the preservation of coastal marine ecosystems.