Genetic structure of Turbinaria peltata in the northern South China Sea suggest insufficient genetic adaptability of relatively high-latitude scleractinian corals to environment stress

Qian Wu; Wen Huang; Biao Chen; Enguang Yang; Linqing Meng; Yinmin Chen; Jingjing Li; Xueyong Huang; Jiayuan Liang; Tzuen-Kiat Yap; Kefu Yu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145775

Genetic structure of Turbinaria peltata in the northern South China Sea suggest insufficient genetic adaptability of relatively high-latitude scleractinian corals to environment stress

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Jun 25:775:145775. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145775. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Authors

Qian Wu¹, Wen Huang², Biao Chen³, Enguang Yang¹, Linqing Meng¹, Yinmin Chen¹, Jingjing Li⁴, Xueyong Huang¹, Jiayuan Liang¹, Tzuen-Kiat Yap⁵, Kefu Yu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
² Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China. Electronic address: wenhuang@gxu.edu.cn.
³ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China.
⁴ College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China.
⁵ Guangxi Haishu Marine Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Nanning 530004, China.
⁶ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China. Electronic address: kefuyu@scsio.ac.cn.

PMID: 33611183
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145775

Abstract

With the rapid degradation of coral reefs due to global warming and anthropogenic impacts, relatively high-latitude areas, such as the northern South China Sea (SCS), are likely to become refuges for tropical coral species. Here we investigated the genetic features and adaptability of one dominant scleractinian coral species, Turbinaria peltata, in the northern SCS. A total of 81 samples from 5 sites were studied to explore potential mechanisms of adaptability to environmental stress as a result of climate change. Ten microsatellite markers developed in this study, one nuclear gene (internal transcribed spacer, ITS), and one mitochondrial gene (mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene, mtDNA COI) were used. Our results indicated that the genetic diversity of T. peltata in the northern SCS is low (A_r = 1.403-2.011, H_o = 0.105-0.248, H_e = 0.187-0.421) with the lowest in Dongfang population (DF) (A_r = 1.403, H_o = 0.22, H_e = 0.187). These results indicate that T. peltata has insufficient genetic adaptability and may unable to handle increasingly complex global changes. A significantly moderate genetic differentiation was observed among T. peltata populations (Φ_ST = 0.167), in addition to a high genetic differentiation between DF and other populations (F_ST = 0.272-0.536 > 0.25). The DF population near a fishing port was exposed to severe anthropogenic environmental stress, which may drive the extraordinarily high genetic differentiation between DF and other populations. Furthermore, the Mantel test results showed that the genetic differentiation of the other four populations was strongly correlated with the average sea surface temperature (SST) (R² = 0.82, Mantel test P < 0.05) and geographical distance (R² = 0.57, Mantel test P < 0.05). Our results suggest that the genetic structure of T. peltata in the relatively high-latitude of the SCS was significantly affected by average SST, geographical isolation, and anthropogenic activities. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for the protection of relatively high-latitude coral reefs.

Keywords: Coral refuge; Genetic differentiation; Genetic diversity; Relatively high-latitude coral reef; Turbinaria peltata.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anthozoa* / genetics
China
Climate Change
Coral Reefs
Genetic Structures