Phylogenetic Position of a Deep-Sea Ascidian, Megalodicopia hians, Inferred from the Molecular Data

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Ascidians inhabit both shallow water and the deep sea. The phylogenetic position of deepsea ascidians has not been sufficiently investigated because of their unusual habitats. The family Octacnemidae is one such enigmatic deep-sea ascidian. In this report, we determined the sequences of the 18SrDNA and a mitochondrial protein gene of Megalodicopia hians belonging to the family Octacnemidae, and we analyzed its phylogenetic relationship with other ascidians. A phylogenetic relationship of this family with the families Cionidae and/or Corellidae has been suspected based on a small number of morphological characteristics. However, our results suggested that M. hians has a close relationship to the family Corellidae and might originate from them. This is the first report of the molecular phylogenetic analysis of a deep-sea ascidian

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: