Molecular diversity of Cerithidea gastropods inhabiting Suncheon Bay, and the Japanese and Ryukyu Islands

Abstract

The phylogenetic relationship among the genus Cerithidea including an unidentified congeneric species referred here as species A collected in Suncheon Bay were inferred from nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial gene for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). Their genetic structures were compared with other congeneric species and their local populations around Japan and Ryukyu Islands. A single C. cingulata haplotype was detected to be shared between the Suncheon Bay and Yatsushiro populations and it was the most dominant haplotype in both populatioms. The monophyly of species A was supported by a high bootstrap probability (100%) in the analysis using the neighbour-joining (NJ) method, which showed a closer relationship of this unidentified species with C. alata from Thailand and C. microptera from the Philippines than with other Cerithidea species. C. cingulata, C. largillierti, C. djadjariensis and species A populations in Suncheon Bay can be characterized by a low genetic diversity. These characteristics should be attributed to geographical factors, and further study of the connectivity of Suncheon Bay and the habitats in the outside of the bay could shed light on this interesting theme in conservation ecology.