Assessing meiofaunal variation among individuals utilising morphological and molecular approaches: an example using the Tardigrada |
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Authors: | Chester J Sands Peter Convey Katrin Linse Sandra J McInnes |
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Institution: | (1) British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK |
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Abstract: | Background Meiofauna – multicellular animals captured between sieve size 45 μm and 1000 μm – are a fundamental component of terrestrial,
and marine benthic ecosystems, forming an integral element of food webs, and playing a critical roll in nutrient recycling.
Most phyla have meiofaunal representatives and studies of these taxa impact on a wide variety of sub-disciplines as well as
having social and economic implications. However, studies of variation in meiofauna are presented with several important challenges.
Isolating individuals from a sample substrate is a time consuming process, and identification requires increasingly scarce
taxonomic expertise. Finding suitable morphological characters in many of these organisms is often difficult even for experts.
Molecular markers are extremely useful for identifying variation in morphologically conserved organisms. However, for many
species markers need to be developed de novo, while DNA can often only be extracted from pooled samples in order to obtain sufficient quantity and quality. Importantly,
multiple independent markers are required to reconcile gene evolution with species evolution. In this primarily methodological
paper we provide a proof of principle of a novel and effective protocol for the isolation of meiofauna from an environmental
sample. We also go on to illustrate examples of the implications arising from subsequent screening for genetic variation at
the level of the individual using ribosomal, mitochondrial and single copy nuclear markers. |
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