Genetic diversity and population structure of a vestimentiferan annelid Lamellibrachia satsuma in Japanese and northern Mariana waters

Abstract

The genetic diversity and population structure of a vestimentiferan annelid, Lamellibrachia satsuma, were analyzed based on the nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA obtained from specimens from Kagoshima Bay in Kyushu, Southwestern Japan, which is the shallowest habitat of this species, and Nikko and Daikoku Seamounts in the northern Mariana Arc. The Kagoshima and northern Mariana populations showed significant genetic differentiation, with the genetic diversity of the former being lower than that of the latter. The estimated ages of deviation between the populations in these sea areas as well as expansion of the Kagoshima population suggest the presence of undiscovered habitat(s) of this species in the northwestern Pacific.