Systematic study of sponges of the family Theonellidae (Desmospongiae, Tetractinellida) and diversity of its symbiotic bacteria Enthotheonalla

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K18594
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biodiversity/Systematics
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Ise Yuji 名古屋大学, 理学研究科, 特任助教 (20535108)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 海綿動物

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Systematic study of Japanese sponges of the family Theonellidae (Desmospongiae, Tetractinellida) has been conducted. The study involved revision of known Japanese species, discovery and description of undescribed species and new records from Japan, and molecular phylogeny and DNA barcoding of theonellid sponges.
We revealed that Japanese theonellid sponges consist of 20 species of 3 genera that was drastically increased from 9 species and 3 genera until this study. Theonella swinhoei frequently used for natural product chemistry was revealed to be species complex, harbors at least three species.
Sequences of mitochondrial CO1 (cytochrome oxydase subunit 1) and nuclear ITS (internal transcribed spacer) region are improper for DNA barcoding of theonellid sponges. The latter can't be used for molecular phylogenetic study because of its intragenomic variation.

Free Research Field

海洋生物学