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Exploration of Nuclear DNA Markers for Population Structure Assessment in the Desmid Micrasterias rotata (Zygnematophyceae, Streptophyta)
Author(s) -
Jurdíková Katarína,
Kulichová Jana,
Bestová Helena,
Leliaert Frederik,
Škaloud Pavel
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/jeu.12130
Subject(s) - biology , genetic diversity , panmixia , population , genetic structure , evolutionary biology , ecology , genetic variation , genetics , gene , demography , sociology
Freshwater green microalgae are diverse and widely distributed across the globe, yet the population structuring of these organisms is poorly understood. We assessed the degree of genetic diversity and differentiation of the desmid species, Micrasterias rotata . First, we compared the sequences of four nuclear regions ( actin, gapC1, gapC2, and oee1 ) in 25 strains and selected the gapC1 and actin regions as the most appropriate markers for population structure assessment in this species. Population genetic structure was subsequently analyzed, based on seven populations from the Czech Republic and Ireland. Hudson's Snn statistics indicated that nearest‐neighbor sequences occurred significantly more frequently within geographical populations than within the wider panmictic population. Moreover, Irish populations consistently showed higher genetic diversity than the Czech samples. These results are in accordance with the unbalanced distribution of alleles in many land plant species; however, the large genetic diversity in M. rotata differs from levels of genetic diversity found in most land plants.