Molecular analysis of Lepidopleurus cajetanus (Poli, 1791) (Polyplacophora, Leptochitonidae) from the Mediterranean and near Atlantic

By

Colomba, Mariastella
Sigwart, Julia D
Renda, Walter
Gregorini, Armando
Sosso, Maurizio
Dell'Angelo, Bruno, 1942-

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022-5-3

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1099

Pages

29--40

Subjects

16S rRNA , Chitons , COI , Phylogeny , standard mitochondrial markers

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1099.75837

 

Abstract

In the present paper we used a molecular data set (including mitochondrial partial 16S rRNA and COI gene sequences) to examine the genetic structure ofLepidopleurus cajetanus(Poli, 1791) (Polyplacophora, Leptochitonidae) - a distinctive shallow water chiton and member of the basal branching Lepidopleurida, which is widespread in and adjacent to the Mediterranean. The analyses of the two mt-standard marker fragments resolved two main discrete clusters reported asL. cajetanuss.s. and L. aff. cajetanus, respectively.Lepidopleurus cajetanuss.s. is widespread throughout the area under study, while the second distinct lineage apparently co-occurs on the eastern Spanish mainland coast of the Balearic Sea. This result is discussed comparing our data with those reported, in 2014, by Fernández and colleagues who describedL. cajetanusas exhibiting “a ‘chaotic patchiness’ pattern defined by a high genetic variability with locality-exclusive haplotypes, high genetic divergence, and a lack of geographic structure”. Although genetic data alone are not sufficient to draw any definitive conclusions, nevertheless we believe that present results shed new light onL. cajetanuswhich apparently shows more geographically patterned genetic structure than supposed so far.