Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 80 (1), 16-20 (2014)

Sequence analysis of marine nematodes based on 18S rRNA gene in intertidal sediments of Hiroshima, Seto Inland Sea

MUTSUMI TSUJINO,* TATSUO MIYOSHI AND MOTOHARU UCHIDA

National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Fisheries Research Agency, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima 739-0452, Japan

  Nematodes are common components of marine environments. Therefore, community analysis of nematode composition is important for the characterization of marine environments. However, conventional identification based on morphological characteristics of nematodes requires highly specialized skills and is labor intensive. In this study, molecular biological techniques were examined for rapid identification of marine nematode species in intertidal sediments collected at Zigozen in Hiroshima Bay, Japan. 18S ribosomal RNA genes obtained from 89 individuals out of 96 were amplified and grouped into 22 phylotypes. Two phylotypes had over 97% similarity with species submitted to the database. The remaining 20 phylotypes showed lower similarities among the database records, suggesting that phylogenetic analysis of the 18S rRNA gene is a useful tool to clarify the diversity of nematode communities. However, more sequence data of marine nematodes needs to be accumulated to discuss the changes of nematode communities at a species level among the monitoring stations.


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