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Patterns of spatial genetic structuring in the endangered limpet Patella ferruginea: implications for the conservation of a Mediterranean endemic

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Abstract

Patella ferruginea Gmelin, 1791 is an endangered marine gastropod endemic to the Western Mediterranean. Its range is restricted to the Sardinian-Corsican region (SCR), North Africa, a few scattered sites in Southern Spain, and Sicily. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers and three different mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) regions, Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I, 12S (small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene) and 16S (large-subunit ribosomal RNA gene), were used to investigate the presence of genetic population structuring. The mtDNA sequences showed very low levels of genetic differentiation. Conversely, ISSRs showed the presence of two main genetic groups, corresponding to Spain, North Africa and Sicily and the SCR. The SCR was further split into two subgroups. The ISSR results suggest that, on a regional scale, the genetic structure of P. ferruginea is mainly determined by the restriction of gene flow by dispersal barriers. On a more local scale human harvesting may play a crucial role in population structuring by increasing the effect of genetic drift.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the European Community INTERREG III (2000–2004), the Centro di Eccellenza of the University of Sassari (2000–2004), the Provincia di Olbia-Tempio (2010), and the Regione Autonoma della Sardegna—PO Sardegna FSE 2007–2013—L.R. 7/2007”Promozione della ricerca scientifica e dell’innovazione tecnologica in Sardegna”. Part of the genetic analysis was carried out using the resources of the Computational Biology Service Unit at Cornell University. We wish to gratefully thank Dr. Fabio Scarpa (University of Sassari) for his help in checking the MS, and Dr. Stefania Coppa (CNR—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAMC Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy) for the details provided on the P. ferruginea population in Mal di Ventre Island. We express our gratitude to the PIM (Petites Iles du Mediterraneé) initiative, which provided logistic support in the Zembra Island.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Università di Sassari, Via F. Muroni 25, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Marco Casu, Piero Cossu, Tiziana Lai, Daria Sanna, Gian Luca Dedola, Benedetto Cristo & Marco Curini-Galletti

  2. Laboratorio de Biología Marina, Departamento de Fisiología y Zoología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avenida Reina Mercedes 6, 41012, Sevilla, Spain

    Georgina A. Rivera-Ingraham, José Carlos García-Gómez & Free Espinosa

  3. Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Environnement Marin, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Technopôle Brest Iroise, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Rossana Sussarellu

  4. Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Università di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina, 13, 10123, Torino, Italy

    Gabriella Sella

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  1. Marco Casu
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  2. Georgina A. Rivera-Ingraham
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Correspondence to Marco Casu.

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Casu, M., Rivera-Ingraham, G.A., Cossu, P. et al. Patterns of spatial genetic structuring in the endangered limpet Patella ferruginea: implications for the conservation of a Mediterranean endemic. Genetica 139, 1293–1308 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-012-9631-3

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