Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica
Free-living terrestrial mites (Acari) have persisted through numerous glacial cycles in Antarctica. Very little is known, however, of their genetic diversity and distribution, particularly within the Ross Sea region. To redress this gap, we sampled mites throughout the Ross Sea region, East Antarcti...
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ftunivwaikato:oai:researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz:10289/15625 2023-12-31T10:01:24+01:00 Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica Collins, Gemma E. Young, Monica R. Convey, Peter Chown, Steven L. Cary, S. Craig Adams, Byron J. Wall, Diana H. Hogg, Ian D. 2023 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10289/15625 https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14030606 en eng MDPI AG Genes https://hdl.handle.net/10289/15625 doi:10.3390/genes14030606 2073-4425 © 2023 by the Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Journal Article 2023 ftunivwaikato https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14030606 2023-12-05T18:25:24Z Free-living terrestrial mites (Acari) have persisted through numerous glacial cycles in Antarctica. Very little is known, however, of their genetic diversity and distribution, particularly within the Ross Sea region. To redress this gap, we sampled mites throughout the Ross Sea region, East Antarctica, including Victoria Land and the Queen Maud Mountains (QMM), covering a latitudinal range of 72–85 °S, as well as Lauft Island near Mt. Siple (73 °S) in West Antarctica and Macquarie Island (54oS) in the sub-Antarctic. We assessed genetic diversity using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences (COI-5P DNA barcode region), and also morphologically identified voucher specimens. We obtained 130 sequences representing four genera: Nanorchestes (n = 30 sequences), Stereotydeus (n = 46), Coccorhagidia (n = 18) and Eupodes (n = 36). Tree-based analyses (maximum likelihood) revealed 13 genetic clusters, representing as many as 23 putative species indicated by barcode index numbers (BINs) from the Barcode of Life Datasystems (BOLD) database. We found evidence for geographically-isolated cryptic species, e.g., within Stereotydeus belli and S. punctatus, as well as unique genetic groups occurring in sympatry (e.g., Nanorchestes spp. in QMM). Collectively, these data confirm high genetic divergence as a consequence of geographic isolation over evolutionary timescales. From a conservation perspective, additional targeted sampling of understudied areas in the Ross Sea region should be prioritised, as further diversity is likely to be found in these short-range endemic mites. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Macquarie Island Ross Sea Victoria Land West Antarctica The University of Waikato: Research Commons Genes 14 3 606 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Waikato: Research Commons |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwaikato |
language |
English |
description |
Free-living terrestrial mites (Acari) have persisted through numerous glacial cycles in Antarctica. Very little is known, however, of their genetic diversity and distribution, particularly within the Ross Sea region. To redress this gap, we sampled mites throughout the Ross Sea region, East Antarctica, including Victoria Land and the Queen Maud Mountains (QMM), covering a latitudinal range of 72–85 °S, as well as Lauft Island near Mt. Siple (73 °S) in West Antarctica and Macquarie Island (54oS) in the sub-Antarctic. We assessed genetic diversity using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences (COI-5P DNA barcode region), and also morphologically identified voucher specimens. We obtained 130 sequences representing four genera: Nanorchestes (n = 30 sequences), Stereotydeus (n = 46), Coccorhagidia (n = 18) and Eupodes (n = 36). Tree-based analyses (maximum likelihood) revealed 13 genetic clusters, representing as many as 23 putative species indicated by barcode index numbers (BINs) from the Barcode of Life Datasystems (BOLD) database. We found evidence for geographically-isolated cryptic species, e.g., within Stereotydeus belli and S. punctatus, as well as unique genetic groups occurring in sympatry (e.g., Nanorchestes spp. in QMM). Collectively, these data confirm high genetic divergence as a consequence of geographic isolation over evolutionary timescales. From a conservation perspective, additional targeted sampling of understudied areas in the Ross Sea region should be prioritised, as further diversity is likely to be found in these short-range endemic mites. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Collins, Gemma E. Young, Monica R. Convey, Peter Chown, Steven L. Cary, S. Craig Adams, Byron J. Wall, Diana H. Hogg, Ian D. |
spellingShingle |
Collins, Gemma E. Young, Monica R. Convey, Peter Chown, Steven L. Cary, S. Craig Adams, Byron J. Wall, Diana H. Hogg, Ian D. Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Collins, Gemma E. Young, Monica R. Convey, Peter Chown, Steven L. Cary, S. Craig Adams, Byron J. Wall, Diana H. Hogg, Ian D. |
author_sort |
Collins, Gemma E. |
title |
Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica |
title_short |
Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica |
title_full |
Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Biogeography and Genetic Diversity of Terrestrial Mites in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica |
title_sort |
biogeography and genetic diversity of terrestrial mites in the ross sea region, antarctica |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10289/15625 https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14030606 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Macquarie Island Ross Sea Victoria Land West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Macquarie Island Ross Sea Victoria Land West Antarctica |
op_relation |
Genes https://hdl.handle.net/10289/15625 doi:10.3390/genes14030606 2073-4425 |
op_rights |
© 2023 by the Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14030606 |
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Genes |
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14 |
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3 |
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606 |
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1786800275624820736 |