DATI PRELIMINARI SULLA STRUTTURA DI POPOLAZIONE DI TURSIOPS TRUNCATUS (CETACEA: ODONTOCETA) NELL'ALTO TIRRENO

Megabenthos Underwater Video (MUV): a new device to evaluate species distribution in hard-to-reach marine areas

A device, called Megabenthos Underwater Video (MUV), was designed and built for the counting and the size estimate of benthic organisms in hard-to-reach areas. Since 2014 Cassiopea andromeda, an invasive alien jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea with benthic behavior, colonized a recreational harbor (Cala) of Palermo with a stable population. Studying the species distribution in this area with classical methods (such as visual census, ROV, etc.) was not applicable due to the large presence of obstacles (ropes, anchor cables, boats) and to dive difficulties in these types of area. The MUV was tested from 2017 to 2018 for the study of the spatial-temporal distribution of C. andromeda in the Ca…

Further investigations on populations of the deep-water blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816) (Decapoda, Dendrobranchiata), as inferred from Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and mtDNA analyses

The aim of this study was to integrate existing mitochondrial DNA data relating to the deep-sea blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816) with data obtained by Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 145 AFLP polymorphic loci were scored in 236 specimens collected from one Atlantic and seven Mediterranean sample sites. AMOVA results revealed that the overall genetic variation among-populations was lower (11.81%) than within-populations (88.19%). The genetic variation between the Atlantic and Mediterranean samples was found to be not significant ( Φ CT = − 0 . 007 ; N.S.), indicating that the transition area between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea d…

Due casi-studio di “stock identification” con microsatelliti nel Mar Mediterraneo: la triglia di fango Mullus barbatus e il nasello Merluccius merluccius.

Analisi dell’rDNA 12S nelle relazioni sistematiche della Lucertola campestre (Podarcis sicula) in Italia.

Struttura di popolazione della triglia di fango, Mullus barbatus (Pisces: Mullidae), nel Mar Mediterraneo rivelata dall’analisi dei microsatelliti

Isolation By Distance (IBD) signals in the deep-water rose shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) (Decapoda, Panaeidae) in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract The identification of boundaries of genetic demes is one of the major goals for fishery management, and few Mediterranean commercial species have not been studied from a genetic point of view yet. The deep-water rose shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) is one of the most important components of commercial landings in Mediterranean, its fishery aspects have received much attention, regrettably without any concern for the genetic architecture of its populations. The population structure in the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea (captures from six Italian and two Greek landings) has been analysed on the basis of surveys carried out with mitochondrial and AFLP markers. Dat…

Identificazione di stock di Mullus barabtus (Teleostei: Perciformes) lungo le coste siciliane attraverso l'uso di microsatelliti.

Dati sulla caratterizzazione di loci AFLP utili per lo studio della variazione genetica di Parapenaeus longirostris (Crustacea, Decapoda).

Due casi studio di stock identification con microsatelliti nel mar Mediterraneo: la triglia di fango (Mullus barbatus) e il nasello (Merluccius merluccius)

Characterization of small HSPs from Anemonia viridis reveals insights into molecular evolution of alpha crystallin genes among cnidarians.

Gene family encoding small Heat-Shock Proteins (sHSPs containing α-crystallin domain) are found both in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms; however, there is limited knowledge of their evolution. In this study, two small HSP genes termed AvHSP28.6 and AvHSP27, both organized in one intron and two exons, were characterised in the Mediterranean snakelocks anemone Anemonia viridis. The release of the genome sequence of Hydra magnipapillata and Nematostella vectensis enabled a comprehensive study of the molecular evolution of α-crystallin gene family among cnidarians. Most of the H. magnipapillata sHSP genes share the same gene organization described for AvHSP28.6 and AvHSP27, differing from …

COME E' DISTRIBUITA LA BIODIVERSITA' IN MEDITERRANEO E PERCHE': LA RISPOSTA DEGLI APPROCCI MOLECOLARI

Environmental features of deep-sea habitats linked to the genetic population structure of a crustacean species in the Mediterranean Sea

The deep-sea habitat, from 200 to 2000 m depth, has long been thought as an ecosystem where biotic and abiotic factors vary very little and consequently species are not disturbed by processes and phenomena which could promote fast evolutionary mechanisms. Unfortunately, biological information relating to deep water is limited, especially regarding the population genetics of species inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, and general patterns cannot be inferred. In this study we report data on the population genetic structure of Aristeus antennatus, a deep-sea decapod crustacean species which has been widely studied due to its important economic value. We surveyed and examined the variation in a 3…

FISH BARCODE OF LIFE: primi dati sui pesci ossei e pesci cartilaginei del mar Mediterraneo.

Sneaking into a Hotspot of Biodiversity: Coverage and Integrity of a Rhodolith Bed in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)

Habitat mapping, physical characteristics and benthic community of a rhodolith bed in the Pelagie Islands (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea) were studied through Multi–Beam Echo–Sounder (MBES), Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and grab samples. The geomorphological analysis revealed an articulated and wide rhodolith bed; video inspections highlighted a bed with high coverage, few sandy patches and with a prevalence of the boxwork morphotype. A total of 207 taxa with 876 specimens were identified, and Polychaeta was the dominant taxon. Linguimaera caesaris, a Lessepsian benthic amphipod, was recorded in all sampling sites, and its presence represents an input to deepen the benthic assembla…

A molecular analysis of some Eastern Atlantic grouper from the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca genus

Abstract Mitochondrial cytochrome b (397 bp) and 16S rDNA (516 bp) sequences analysis was used to investigate the phylogenetic relationships among some Eastern Atlantic Epinephelinae species. Six species of Epinephelus ( E. aeneus , E. caninus , E. costae , E. haifensis , E. marginatus and E. tauvina ) and two species of Mycteroperca ( M. rubra and M. fusca ) were analysed. Neighbour-joining and maximum-parsimony analysis support the paraphyletic grouping of the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca analysed. The maximum pairwise nucleotide divergence value in cyt b among all taxa was 0.196 between E. aeneus and E. marginatus and the minimum value was 0.006 between E. costae and M. rubra . Meanwhile…

Genetic variability of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus in the Western Mediterranean Sea inferred by DNA microsatellite loci

Genetic variation at eight microsatellite loci was studied in nine populations of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus to investigate whether distinct stocks are present in the Western Mediterranean Sea. A high level of gene flow and no evidence of genetic partitioning were discovered. No significant variation was found (FST = 0.00673, P-value = 0.067) even when shrimps from exploited and those from deep-water unexploited grounds were compared. No evidence of reduction or expansion of population size in the recent past was found, as indicated by the bottleneck and interlocus g-tests. Our results are consistent with previous studies using mitochondrial gene methods and allozymes, indi…

Maintenance of a Protein Structure in the Dynamic Evolution of TIMPs over 600 Million Years

Deciphering the events leading to protein evolution represents a challenge, especially for protein families showing complex evolutionary history. Among them, TIMPs represent an ancient eukaryotic protein family widely distributed in the animal kingdom. They are known to control the turnover of the extracellular matrix and are considered to arise early during metazoan evolution, arguably tuning essential features of tissue and epithelial organization. To probe the structure and molecular evolution of TIMPs within metazoans, we report the mining and structural characterization of a large data set of TIMPs over approximately 600 Myr. The TIMPs repertoire was explored starting from the Cnidaria…

Genetic population structure of Epinephelus marginatus (Pisces, Serranidae) revealed by two molecular markers

In this paper, data are presented regarding the population structure of dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) which was sampled in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean using two different molecular markers, ND2 RFLP and cytochrome b (cyt b) sequence analysis. The main objective of the study is to analyse the genetic variability of E. marginatus in the Mediterranean Sea to define how the biological characteristics of the species, such as the dispersal capability of pelagic larvae and the benthonic-sedentary life style, can affect the genetic population structure or maintaining the gene flow or determining genetic differences. Furthermore, we considered an Atlantic sample to establish th…

INFLUENZA DELLE CARATTERISTICHE OCEANOGRAFICHE NELLA STRUTTURA DI POPOLAZIONE DI ARISTEUS ANTENNATUS (CRUSTACEA: ARISTEIDAE)

The Stock Genetic Structure of Two Sparidae Species, Diplodus vulgaris and Lithognathus mormyrus, in the Mediterranean Sea.

Abstract Polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of allozymes was used to investigate the intraspecies genetic variation and the genetic stock structure of Diplodus vulgaris and Lithognathus mormyrus captured from eight localities in the Mediterranean Sea. Twenty-two and 20 putative enzyme-coding loci were examined, respectively, in D. vulgaris and L. mormyrus . Polymorphic loci at the 95% level were used to assess the allozyme variability in D. vulgaris ( AAT-2 ∗ , EST-1 ∗ , GLDH ∗ , PEPB-2 ∗ , PGI-2 ∗ , PGM ∗ , SDH ∗ ) and L. mormyrus ( AAT-2 ∗ , EST-1 ∗ , GLDH ∗ , MDH-2 ∗ , PGI-2 ∗ , PGM ∗ ). The proportion of polymorphic loci in both species ranged from 0.31 ( D. vulgaris ) to 0.30 ( …

Microsatellite analysis of red mullet Mullus barbatus (Perciformes, Mullidae) reveals the isolation of the Adriatic Basin in the Mediterranean Sea

AbstractMaggio, T., Lo Brutto, S., Garoia, F., Tinti, F., and Arculeo, M. 2009. Microsatellite analysis of red mullet Mullus barbatus (Perciformes, Mullidae) reveals the isolation of the Adriatic Basin in the Mediterranean Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1883–1891. The red mullet Mullus barbatus is commercially one of the most important demersal fish resources in the Mediterranean. Molecular data on its genetic population structure throughout the Mediterranean are reported. Six microsatellite loci displayed a high degree of expected heterozygosity and a high allele number per locus. The Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium test revealed an overall tendency towards heterozygote deficiency, …

Dati preliminari sulla variabilità della regione di controllo in Parapenaeus longirostris e Aristeus antennatus.

The nucleic acid-binding protein PcCNBP is transcriptionally regulated during the immune response in red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii

Gene family encoding cellular nucleic acid binding proteins (CNBP) is well conserved among vertebrates; however, there is limited knowledge in lower organisms. In this study, a CNBP homolog from the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii was characterised. The full-length cDNA of PcCNBP was of 1257 bp with a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 63 bp and a 3′-UTR of 331 bp with a poly (A) tail, and an open-reading frame (ORF) of 864 bp encoding a polypeptide of 287 amino acids with the predicted molecular weight of about 33 kDa. The predicted protein possesses 7 tandem repeats of 14 amino acids containing the CCHC zinc finger consensus sequence, two RGG-rich single-stranded RNA-binding domain an…