CO I barcoding reveals new clades and radiation patterns of Indo-Pacific sponges of the family Irciniidae (Demospongiae: Dictyoceratida).

Pöppe, Judith; Sutcliffe, Patricia; Hooper, John N A; Wörheide, Gert; Erpenbeck, Dirk · PLoS One · 2010

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: DNA barcoding is a promising tool to facilitate a rapid and unambiguous identification of sponge species. Demosponges of the order Dictyoceratida are particularly challenging to identify, but are of ecological as well as biochemical importance. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we apply DNA barcoding with the standard CO1-barcoding marker on selected Indo-Pacific specimens of two genera, Ircinia and Psammocinia of the family Irciniidae. We show that the CO1 marker identifies several species new to science, reveals separate radiation patterns of deep-sea Ircinia sponges and indicates dispersal patterns of Psammocinia species. However, some species cannot be unambiguously barcoded by solely this marker due to low evolutionary rates. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We support previous suggestions for a combination of the standard CO1 fragment with an additional fragment for sponge DNA barcoding.

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