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Hung KC, Liou CY, Wen CC, Lin HC. Genetic Structure of the Endemic Fiddler Crab Uca ( Xeruca) formosensis on the West Coast of Taiwan. Zool Stud 2023; 62:e24. [PMID: 37671173 PMCID: PMC10475467 DOI: 10.6620/zs.2023.62-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Xeruca formosensis is the only endemic species of fiddler crab on the west coast of Taiwan. However, its natural habitats and populations have been compromised by excessive anthropogenic activities and improper land use over the past four decades. In light of these changes, we sought to evaluate the genetic diversity and gene flow of the species by examining the genetic variation of X. formosensis at different sampling locations. To this end, we performed molecular analyses of three endonuclease-amplified fragment length polymorphisms (TE-AFLP) and the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) marker from leg muscle samples. We found that the genetic variation within sampling locations was higher than that among sampling locations, and the expected heterozygosity of genetic diversity (Hj) was 0.152 for TE-AFLP data. Meanwhile, the COI marker showed high haplotype diversity (h = 0.976 ± 0.008) and a low genetic differentiation level (FST = 0.021) in X. formosensis populations. Importantly, the genetic connectivity of X. formosensis may be influenced by larval-stage crabs drifting between coastal and marine habitats. As such, crab gene flow is promoted among populations by larval exchange via nearshore currents. Although X. formosensis has high gene flow, the species could undergo an extinction crisis if the population sizes continue to decline, as with most endangered species. In order to maintain the natural habitats and population size of X. formosensis, long-term monitoring and investigation will be necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun-Chin Hung
- Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan. E-mail: (Lin); (Hung)
| | - Ching-Yu Liou
- Endemic Species Research Institute, Council of Agriculture of the Executive Yuan, Jiji, Nantou 552005, Taiwan. E-mail: (Liou)
| | - Chih-Chung Wen
- Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, Hungkuang University, Taichung 433, Taiwan. E-mail: (Wen)
| | - Hui-Chen Lin
- Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan. E-mail: (Lin); (Hung)
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Brown KT, Southgate PC, Hewavitharane CA, Lal MM. Saving the sea cucumbers: Using population genomic tools to inform fishery and conservation management of the Fijian sandfish Holothuria (Metriatyla) scabra. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274245. [PMID: 36084062 PMCID: PMC9462726 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The sea cucumber Holothuria (Metriatyla) scabra, known as sandfish, is a high-value tropical echinoderm central to the global bêche-de-mer (BDM) trade. This species has been heavily exploited across its natural range, with overharvesting and ineffective fishery management leaving stocks in the Pacific region heavily depleted. In Fiji, sandfish stocks have not recovered since a 1988 harvest ban, with surveys reporting declining populations and recruitment failure. Therefore, to inform fishery management policy for the wild sandfish resource and to guide hatchery-based restocking efforts, a high-resolution genomic audit of Fijian populations was carried out. A total of 6,896 selectively-neutral and 186 putatively-adaptive genome-wide SNPs (DArTseq) together with an independent oceanographic particle dispersal model were used to investigate genetic structure, diversity, signatures of selection, relatedness and connectivity in six wild populations. Three genetically distinct populations were identified with shallow but significant differentiation (average Fst = 0.034, p≤0.05), comprising (1) Lakeba island (Lau archipelago), (2) Macuata (Vanua Levu), and (3) individuals from Yasawa, Ra, Serua island and Kadavu comprising the final unit. Small reductions in allelic diversity were observed in marginal populations in eastern Fiji (overall mean A = 1.956 vs. Lau, A = 1.912 and Macuata, A = 1.939). Signatures of putative local adaptation were also discovered in individuals from Lakeba island, suggesting that they be managed as a discrete unit. An isolation-by-distance model of genetic structure for Fijian sandfish is apparent, with population fragmentation occurring towards the east. Hatchery-based production of juveniles is promising for stock replenishment, however great care is required during broodstock source population selection and juvenile releases into source areas only. The successful use of genomic data here has the potential to be applied to other sea cucumber species in Fiji, and other regions involved in the global BDM trade. While preliminary insights into the genetic structure and connectivity of sandfish in Fiji have been obtained, further local, regional and distribution-wide investigations are required to better inform conservation efforts, wild stock management and hatchery-based restocking interventions for this valuable invertebrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly T. Brown
- Discipline of Marine Studies, School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
- * E-mail:
| | - Paul C. Southgate
- Discipline of Marine Studies, School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, and Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia
| | - Chinthaka A. Hewavitharane
- Discipline of Marine Studies, School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
| | - Monal M. Lal
- Discipline of Marine Studies, School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, and Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia
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Shrestha AMS, I Lilagan CA, B Guiao JE, R Romana-Eguia MR, Ablan Lagman MC. Comparative transcriptome profiling of heat stress response of the mangrove crab Scylla serrata across sites of varying climate profiles. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:580. [PMID: 34325654 PMCID: PMC8323281 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07891-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The fishery and aquaculture of the widely distributed mangrove crab Scylla serrata is a steadily growing, high-value, global industry. Climate change poses a risk to this industry as temperature elevations are expected to threaten the mangrove crab habitat and the supply of mangrove crab juveniles from the wild. It is therefore important to understand the genomic and molecular basis of how mangrove crab populations from sites with different climate profiles respond to heat stress. Towards this, we performed RNA-seq on the gill tissue of S. serrata individuals sampled from 3 sites (Cagayan, Bicol, and Bataan) in the Philippines, under normal and heat-stressed conditions. To compare the transcriptome expression profiles, we designed a 2-factor generalized linear model containing interaction terms, which allowed us to simultaneously analyze within-site response to heat-stress and across-site differences in the response. Results We present the first ever transcriptome assembly of S. serrata obtained from a data set containing 66 Gbases of cleaned RNA-seq reads. With lowly-expressed and short contigs excluded, the assembly contains roughly 17,000 genes with an N50 length of 2,366 bp. Our assembly contains many almost full-length transcripts – 5229 shrimp and 3049 fruit fly proteins have alignments that cover >80% of their sequence lengths to a contig. Differential expression analysis found population-specific differences in heat-stress response. Within-site analysis of heat-stress response showed 177, 755, and 221 differentially expressed (DE) genes in the Cagayan, Bataan, and Bicol group, respectively. Across-site analysis showed that between Cagayan and Bataan, there were 389 genes associated with 48 signaling and stress-response pathways, for which there was an effect of site in the response to heat; and between Cagayan and Bicol, there were 101 such genes affecting 8 pathways. Conclusion In light of previous work on climate profiling and on population genetics of marine species in the Philippines, our findings suggest that the variation in thermal response among populations might be derived from acclimatory plasticity due to pre-exposure to extreme temperature variations or from population structure shaped by connectivity which leads to adaptive genetic differences among populations. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1186/s12864-021-07891-w).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anish M S Shrestha
- Bioinformatics Lab, Advanced Research Institute for Informatics, Computing, and Networking (AdRIC), De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. .,Software Technology Department, College of Computer Studies, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
| | - Crissa Ann I Lilagan
- Software Technology Department, College of Computer Studies, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.,Practical Genomics Laboratory, Center for Natural Science and Environment Research, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.,Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
| | - Joyce Emlyn B Guiao
- Bioinformatics Lab, Advanced Research Institute for Informatics, Computing, and Networking (AdRIC), De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.,Mathematics and Statistics Department, College of Science, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
| | - Maria Rowena R Romana-Eguia
- Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, Binangoan, 1940 Rizal, Philippines.,Biology Department, College of Science, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
| | - Ma Carmen Ablan Lagman
- Practical Genomics Laboratory, Center for Natural Science and Environment Research, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.,Biology Department, College of Science, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
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