16S Mitocondrial gene sequence analysis of some Turritopsis (Hydrozoa, Oceanidae) from Japan and Abroad

Abstract

16S mitocondrial gene sequence analysis using eight individuals prepared in the present study from three countries (Israel, Italy, Japan) revealed and confirmed that there are five species in Turritopsis in the world, and among which three species (Turritopsis rubra, T. sp. and T. dohrnii) are distributed in Japan and one of them (T. sp.) is endemic and distributed in central Japan. Among the species distributed in the Pacific Ocean, T. sp. is a sister species of the Chinese species (T. lata) that might be another endemic one, while T. rubra, that has a brooding habit, is more remote species than the Atlantic and the Mediterranean species (T. nutricula and T. dohrnii). The present analysis suggests that T. dohrnii is found in Israel in addition to Okinawa Island, Japan, possibly as another introduction example