2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Elucidation of the maintenance mechanism of coral populations in the Kuroshio region by seascape genetics and genomics

Research Project

PDF

Project/Area Number	16H05621
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	海外学術
Research Field	Environmental dynamic analysis
Research Institution	Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Principal Investigator	NAKAJIMA Yuichi 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 海洋生態物理学ユニット, 研究員 (50581708)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	中村雅子東海大学, 海洋学部, 准教授 (50580156) 酒井一彦琉球大学, 熱帯生物圏研究センター, 教授 (50153838) 御手洗哲司沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 海洋生態物理学ユニット, 准教授 (80567769)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Keywords	海洋生態 / 海洋保全 / 環境
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Degradation of reef-building coral populations has been reported in various regions of the world. In Japan, several coral species inhabit the northern limit of the coral-distribution area. Therefore, even slight environmental disturbances can cause the local extinction of coral populations. Here, we conducted seascape genetic and genomic analyses of coral populations in the Northwest Pacific region, including Japan, to understand the mechanism of coral population maintenance. We focused on reproductive characteristics and the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes at small geographic scales. We constructed a molecular phylogenetic tree using the RAD-Seq data to assess species diversity and proposed the necessity for further research on coral taxonomy. Furthermore, we conducted a population genomic analysis to clarify the population genetic structure among the regions and elucidated the recruitment patterns of coral larvae with the results of ocean current simulation analysis.
Free Research Field	集団遺伝学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究では人為的撹乱によりサンゴの消失が懸念されている北西太平洋域において、サンゴの集団遺伝学、集団ゲノム学解析を中心に研究を進めた。異なる空間的、時間的スケールに着目したことで、サンゴの集団遺伝学に留まらず、繁殖生態学、分類学、海洋物理学など、多岐にわたる分野に関連する成果を得ることができた。これらの成果はサンゴ個体群の動向を予測する上で重要であることから、沿岸生態系において喫緊の課題となっているサンゴの保全にも貢献することが期待される。