Examining larval dispersal and speciation of Indo-Pacific coral reef organisms through population genomic analysis

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H04996
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Conservation of biological resources
• Research Institution: University of Miyazaki
• Principal Investigator: Yasuda Nina 宮崎大学, 農学部, 准教授 (00617251)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: サンゴ礁生態系 / 幼生分散 / 種分化 / 集団遺伝解析 / MIG-seq

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, population genomic analysis of the fundamental species of coral reef ecosystem such as several species of reef-building corals and coral predators were conducted. Genome-wide SNP analysis based on MIG-seq revealed local to Indo-Pacific scale larval dispersal of the target species as well as hidden species boundaries and speciation process of reef-building corals. In case of living fossil, blue corals, at least three different species of Heliopora spp. have been discovered over Indo-Pacific. Distributions, spawning periods, and physiological data suggest allopatric, allochronic, and ecological speciation were associated for the divergence within the genus.
While spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed local larval dispersal range of coral species, the results of integrated analysis of oceanographic model and genomic analysis revealed meta-population structure of corals species were applied for proposing candidate sites of Marine Protected Areas.

Free Research Field

海洋分子生態学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、主に絶滅危惧種やキーストーン種を対象に、生物多様性の根源である遺伝的多様性、種の境界の解明、幼生分散による集団間の繋がりを明らかにすることで、今後、国際的、国内的な生物多様性保全にむけて、国際条約を取り決めや議論、国内外の海洋保護区を設置する上で基盤となる知見を集積することができた。またサンゴのような固着性の強い海洋生物において、個々の位置情報をとることは困難ではあるものの、ゲノムワイド情報を空間自己相関解析を使うことにより、生態学的時間スケールでおきる幼生分散を推定する上で非常に有用であることを明らかにすることができた。