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Ultra-flat, ultra-thin alkali antimonide photocathodes with high crystallinity can exhibit high quantum efficiency and low mean transverse energy of outgoing electrons, which are essential requirements for a variety of applications for photocathode materials. Here, we investigate the growth of Cs3Sb on graphene-coated 4H–SiC (Gr/4H–SiC), 3C–SiC, and Si3N4 substrates. Sb is deposited using pulsed laser deposition, while Cs is deposited thermally and simultaneously. We demonstrate, employing x-ray analysis and quantum efficiency measurements, that this growth method yields atomically smooth Cs3Sb photocathodes with a high quantum efficiency (>10%), even in the ultra-thin limit (<30 nm). For the Si3N4 substrate, film growth is shown to be polycrystalline, while films grown on Gr/4H–SiC show a high degree of ordering with signs of epitaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining kinetic reaction parameters with great detail has been of utmost importance in the field of chemical reaction engineering. However, commonly used experimental and computational methods however are unable to provide sufficiently resolved spatiotemporal information that can aid in the process of understanding these chemical reactions. With our work, we demonstrate the use of a custom designed single-bounce ATR-integrated microfluidic reactor to obtain spatiotemporal resolution for in situ monitoring of chemical reactions. Having a single-bounce ATR accessory allows us to individually address different sensing areas, thereby providing the ability to obtain spatially and temporally resolved information. To further enhance the spatial resolution, we utilize the benefits of synchrotron IR radiation with the smallest beam spot-size ∼150 μm. An on-flow modular microreactor additionally allows us to monitor the chemical reaction in situ, where the temporal characterization can be controlled with the operational flowrate. With a unique combination of experimental measurements and numerical simulations, we characterize and analyse a model SN2 reaction. For a chemical reaction between benzyl bromide (BB) and sodium azide (SA) to produce benzyl azide (BA), we successfully show the capability of our device to determine the diffusion coefficients of BB and SA as 0.367 ± 0.115 10−9 m2 s−1 and 1.17 ± 0.723 10−9 m2 s−1, respectively. Finally, with the above characteristics of our device, we also calculate a reaction rate of k = 0.0005 (m3s−1mol−1) for the given chemical reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tunicate Molgula manhattensis has a disjunct amphi-Atlantic distribution and a recent history of world-wide introductions. Its distribution could be the result of regional extinctions followed by post-glacial recolonization, or anthropogenic dispersal. To determine whether the North Atlantic distribution of M. manhattensis is natural or human-mediated, we analysed mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence variation in individuals from cryptogenic and introduced ranges. North Atlantic Europe and America; Black Sea; San Francisco Bay; Osaka Bay. Nuclear 18S rDNA sequences were used to resolve phylogenetic relationships and mtDNA COI sequences for phylogeographic analyses. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed that M. manhattensis and M. socialis, which are frequently confused, are distinct species. MtDNA haplotype diversity was nearly three times higher with deeper relationships among haplotypes on the North-east American coast than in Europe. Diversity declined from south to north in America but not in Europe. In areas of known introductions (Black Sea, Japan, San Francisco Bay), M. manhattensis showed variable levels of haplotype diversity. Medium-to-high-frequency haplotypes originating from the North-west Atlantic were present in two locations of known introductions, but not in Europe. Private haplotypes were found on both sides of the Atlantic and in introduced populations. The mismatch distribution for the North-east Atlantic coast indicates a recent expansion. Molgula manhattensis is native in North-east America. However, whether it was introduced or is native to Europe remains equivocal. Additional sampling might or might not reveal the presence of putative private European haplotypes in America. The low European diversity may be explained by low effective population size and a recent expansion, or by low propagule pressure of anthropogenic introduction. Absence of medium-to-high-frequency American haplotypes in Europe may be the result of exclusive transport from southern ports, or long-term residence. These arguments are ambiguous, and M. manhattensis remains cryptogenic in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the flexibility of the endosymbioses between scleractinian corals and single-cell algae of the genus Symbiodinium will provide valuable insights into the future of coral reefs. Here, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay is presented to accurately determine the cell densities of Symbiodinium clades C and D in the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora, which can be extended to other coral–symbiont associations in the future. The assay targets single- to low-copy genes of the actin family of both the coral host and algal symbiont. Symbiont densities are expressed as the ratio of Symbiodinium cells to each host cell (S/H ratio, error within 30%), but can also be normalized to coral surface area. Greater accuracy in estimating ratios of associations involving multiple clades is achieved compared with previous real-time PCR assays based on high-copy ribosomal DNA loci (error within an order of magnitude). Healthy adult A. millepora containing ~1.4 × 106 zooxanthellae per cm2 (as determined by haemocytometer counts) had S/H ratios of c. 0.15, i.e. ~15 symbiont cells per 100 host cells. In severely bleached colonies, this ratio decreased to less than 0.005. Because of its capacity to accurately determine both densities and ratios of multiple symbionts within one sample, the assay will open the door for novel research into the mechanisms of symbiont shuffling and switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rays and skates are an unavoidable part of the by-catch in demersal fisheries. Over the past 40 years, the thornback ray (Raja clavata) has decreased in numbers and even disappeared in some areas, leading to concerns about genetic risk. For this reason, the effective population size (Ne), the migration rate (m) and temporal changes in the genetic diversity were estimated for the population of thornback rays in the Irish Sea and Bristol Channel. Using genotyped, archived and contemporary samples (1965 and 2003–2004), Ne was estimated at 283 individuals (95% CI=145–857), m at 0.1 (95% CI=0.03–0.25) and the Ne/N ratio between 9 × 10–5 and 6 × 10−4. Although these results must be treated with caution, due to the small sample sizes, this is the first attempt to estimate Ne in an elasmobranch species. The low Ne/N ratio suggests that relatively few individuals contribute to the next generation. The combined effect of sex bias, inbreeding, fluctuations in population size and, perhaps most important, the variance in reproductive success may explain the low Ne/N ratio. In addition, the relatively high gene flow between Irish Sea population and other source populations is likely to have had an impact on our estimate, which may be more relevant at the metapopulation scale. No significant loss of genetic diversity was found over the 40-year timeframe and long-term maintenance of the genetic diversity could be due to gene flow.Heredity (2008) 101, 120–126; doi:10.1038/hdy.2008.36; published online 7 May 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduced Fucus evanescens (hermaphroditic) and the native F. serratus (dioecious) have been in secondary contact along the Danish coast of the Kattegat Sea for 60–100 years and dioecious hybrids have been observed at Blushøj for several years. Hybridization in Fucus is unusual because it appears to always involve a hermaphroditic and a dioecious parental pair. We determined the degree and spatial patterns of introgression for 286 individuals using 10 microsatellite loci and cpDNA. Hybrids accounted for nearly 13% of the population, yet parental species were well differentiated ( FST = 0.633). The presence of F. evanescens chloroplasts in 100% of F1 hybrids revealed asymmetrical hybridization. Fucus evanescens cpDNA was observed in 50% of introgressed and 5.4% of pure F. serratus, but no F. serratus cpDNA was found in F. evanescens. In contrast, nuclear DNA introgression was symmetrical with an equal amount (≈1.5%) of genes introgressed into each parental species. Survivorship and viability data suggest selection against hybrids in the hybrid zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last glacial maximum (20 000–18 000 years ago) dramatically affected extant distributions of virtually all northern European biota. Locations of refugia and postglacial recolonization pathways were examined in Fucus serratus (Heterokontophyta; Fucaceae) using a highly variable intergenic spacer developed from the complete mitochondrial genome of Fucus vesiculosus. Over 1500 samples from the entire range of F. serratus were analysed using fluorescent single strand conformation polymorphism. A total of 28 mtDNA haplotypes was identified and sequenced. Three refugia were recognized based on high haplotype diversities and the presence of endemic haplotypes: southwest Ireland, the northern Brittany-Hurd Deep area of the English Channel, and the northwest Iberian Peninsula. The Irish refugium was the source for a recolonization sweep involving a single haplotype via northern Scotland and throughout Scandinavia, whereas recolonization from the Brittany-Hurd Deep refugium was more limited, probably because of unsuitable soft-bottom habitat in the Bay of Biscay and along the Belgian and Dutch coasts. The Iberian populations reflect a remnant refugium at the present–day southern boundary of the species range. A generalized skyline plot suggested exponential population expansion beginning in the mid-Pleistocene with maximal growth during the Eems interglacial 128 000–67 000 years ago, implying that the last glacial maximum mainly shaped population distributions rather than demography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reef corals form associations with an array of genetically and physiologically distinct endosymbionts from the genus Symbiodinium. Some corals harbor different clades of symbionts simultaneously, and over time the relative abundances of these clades may change through a process called symbiont shuffling. It is hypothesized that this process provides a mechanism for corals to respond to environmental threats such as global warming. However, only a minority of coral species have been found to harbor more than one symbiont clade simultaneously and the current view is that the potential for symbiont shuffling is limited. Using a newly developed real-time PCR assay, this paper demonstrates that previous studies have underestimated the presence of background symbionts because of the low sensitivity of the techniques used. The assay used here targets the multi-copy rDNA ITS1 region and is able to detect Symbiodinium clades C and D with >100-fold higher sensitivity compared to conventional techniques. Technical considerations relating to intragenomic variation, estimating copy number and non-symbiotic contamination are discussed. Eighty-two colonies from four common scleractinian species (Acropora millepora, Acropora tenuis, Stylophora pistillata and Turbinaria reniformis) and 11 locations on the Great Barrier Reef were tested for background Symbiodinium clades. Although these colonies had been previously identified as harboring only a single clade based on SSCP analyses, background clades were detected in 78% of the samples, indicating that the potential for symbiont shuffling may be much larger than currently thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common intertidal seaweed Fucus serratus was almost certainly introduced to Iceland and the Faroes by humans from Europe, as previous genetic studies have confirmed that life-history constraints preclude long-distance dispersal. Introduction must have occurred sometime in the 1,000 years between arrival of the first Icelandic settlers c . 900 AD and when the species was first noted in a phycological survey in 1900. We genotyped 19 populations from throughout northern Europe, Iceland, and the Faroes with seven microsatellite loci in order to identify the source or sources of the Icelandic/Faroese populations. Assignment tests indicated that the Småskjaer area of the Oslofjorden in Norway was the source for the Icelandic populations and the Hafnarfjörður area of Iceland was the likely source for the single Faroese population. The time of introduction to Iceland was probably during the 19th century, whereas introduction to the Faroes occurred during the late 20th century. Additionally, molecular data verified hybridization between the introduced F. serratus and the native F. evanescens . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of more than one type of mitochondrial DNA within the same organism (mtDNA heteroplasmy) has been reported in vertebrates, invertebrates, basidiomycetes and some angiosperms, but never in marine (macro)algae. We examined sequence differences in a 135-base pair (bp) region of the nad11 gene in mitochondria of the intertidal rockweed, Fucus serratus, using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). Each of 70 and 22 individuals from Blushøj (Denmark) and Oskarshamn (Sweden), respectively, displayed haplotypes 2, 3, and 4 (= mtDNA heteroplasmy), whereas only haplotype 2 was found in each of 24 individuals from locations in Spain, France, Ireland, Iceland and Norway. As Blushøj and Oskarshamn were among the last areas to emerge from ice cover during the Last Glacial Maximum (18 000–20 000 years bp), the geographically specific heteroplasmy may represent a founder effect and therefore, a valuable marker for understanding the role of post-Ice Age recolonization. Geographically specific heteroplasmy also has important implications in phylogeographical studies based on mtDNA sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The seaweed Fucus serratus is hypothesized to have evolved in the North Atlantic and present populations are thought to reflect recolonization from a southern refugium since the last glacial maximum 18 000–20 000 years bp. We examined genetic structure across several spatial scales by analysing seven microsatellite loci in populations collected from 21 localities throughout the species’ range. Spatial auto-correlation analysis of seven microsatellite loci revealed no evidence for spatial clustering of alleles on a scale of 100 m despite limited gamete dispersal in F. serratus of ≈ 2 m from parental individuals. Pairwise θ analysis suggested that the minimal panmictic unit for F. serratus was between 0.5 and 2 km. Isolation by distance was significant along some contiguous coastlines. Population differentiation was strong within the Skagerrak–Kattegat–Baltic Seas (SKB) (global θ = 0.17) despite a short history of ≈ 7500 years. A neighbour-joining tree based on Reynold's distances computed from the microsatellite data revealed a central assemblage of populations on the Brittany Peninsula surrounded by four well-supported clusters consisting of the SKB, the North Sea (Ireland, Helgoland), and two populations from the northern Spanish coast. Samples from Iceland and Nova Scotia were most closely aligned with northwest Sweden and Brittany, respectively. When sample sizes were standardized (N = 41), allelic diversity was twofold higher for Brittany populations than for populations to the north and threefold higher than southern populations. The Brittany region may be a refugium or a recolonized area, whereas the Spanish populations most likely reflect present-day edge populations that have undergone repeated bottlenecks as a consequence of thermally induced cycles of recolonization and extinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Independent lines of evidence support an Australian origin for the Mediterranean populations of the tropical alga Caulerpa taxifolia . To complement previous biogeographical studies based on nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), a new chloroplast marker was developed — the cp 16S rDNA intron-2. Sequence variability for both nuclear and chloroplast markers were assessed in 110 individuals using single strand conformation polymorphism. Comparison of intrapopulation genetic diversity between invasive Mediterranean and ‘native’ Australian populations revealed the occurrence of two divergent and widespread clades. The first clade grouped nontropical invasive populations with inshore-mainland populations from Australia, while the second clustered all offshore-island populations studied so far. Despite our finding of nine distinct nuclear and five distinct chloroplast profiles, a single nucleocytoplasmic combination was characteristic of the invasive populations and sexual reproduction was found to be very rare. C. taxifolia is clearly a complex of genetically and ecologically differentiated sibling species or subspecies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Philopatry to spawning grounds combined with well-known migratory patterns in the flatfish Pleuronectes platessa (plaice) has led to the hypothesis that regional populations may reflect relatively discrete, genetic stocks. Using six microsatellite loci we genotyped 240 adult individuals collected from locations in Norway, the Faeroe plateau, the Irish Sea, the Femer Baelt, Denmark, and the southern North Sea, and 240 0-class juveniles collected from five nursery-ground locations in Iceland, northwest Scotland, two sites in the Wadden Sea, and the Bay of Vilaine in Southern Brittany. The mean number of alleles/locus ranged from 5.3 to 20.4, with a mean of 13.9. Expected heterozygosity was uniformly high across all locations (multilocus H exp = 0.744 ± 0.02). Pairwise comparisons of θ among all 11 locations revealed significant differentiation between Iceland and all other locations (θ = 0.0290*** to 0.0456***), which is consistent with the deep–water barrier to dispersal in plaice. In contrast, no significant differentiation was found among any of the remaining continental-shelf sampling locations. This suggests that regional stocks are themselves composed of several genetic stocks under a model of panmixia which persists even to the spawning grounds. The presence of significant heterozygote deficiencies at all locations (not due to null alleles) suggests a temporal Wahlund effect yet the absence of significant population differentiation among continental shelf localities makes this explanation alone, difficult to reconcile. Sampling of eggs at the spawning grounds will be required to resolve this issue. Causes of the mismatch between genetic and geographical stocks is discussed in the context of high gene flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe accidental introduction of Caulerpa taxifolia into the Mediterranean is no longer under dispute. What has eluded researchers until now, is definitive evidence for the original, biogeographical source population. Here we present two independent lines of evidence that support an Australian origin for the Mediterranean populations of C. taxifolia. First, we reanalysed algal rDNA-internal transcribed spacer (rDNA-ITS) sequences, combining previously published sequences from different studies with 22 new sequences. The ITS sequence comparison showed that the Australian sample is the sister group of the Mediterranean–aquarium clade. Second, cloned bacterial 16S rDNA gene sequences were analysed from the associated microflora of C. taxifolia collected from Australia, Tahiti, the Philippines and the Mediterranean. Five bacterial lineages were identified, of which three were dominant. Alpha Proteobacteria were the most abundant and were found in all samples. In contrast, members of the beta Proteobacterial line and Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides line (CFB) were mainly associated with Mediterranean and Australian samples. Frequency distributions of the five bacterial lineages were significantly different among biogeographical locations. Phylogenetic analyses of the 54 bacterial sequences derived from the four C. taxifolia individuals resulted in a well-resolved tree with high bootstrap support. The topologies of the beta Proteobacteria and CFB mirror the geographical sources of their algal hosts. Bacterial–algal associations provide an identification tool that may have wide application for the detection of marine invasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We examined the genetic population structure in eelgrass (Zostera marina L.), the dominant seagrass species of the northern hemisphere, over spatial scales from 12 km to 10 000 km using the polymorphism of DNA microsatellites. Twelve populations were genotyped for six loci representing a total of 67 alleles. Populations sampled included the North Sea (four), the Baltic Sea (three), the western Atlantic (two), the eastern Atlantic (one), the Mediterranean Sea (one) and the eastern Pacific (one). Microsatellites revealed substantial genetic variation in a plant group with low allozyme diversity. Average expected heterozygosities per population (monoclonal populations excluded) ranged from 0.32 to 0.61 (mean = 0.48) and allele numbers varied between 3.3 and 6.7 (mean = 4.7). Using the expected frequency of multilocus genotypes within populations, we distinguished ramets from genetic individuals (i.e. equivalent to clones). Differences in clonal diversity among populations varied widely and ranged from maximal diversity (i.e. all ramets with different genotype) to near or total monoclonality (two populations). All multiple sampled ramets were excluded from further analysis of genetic differentiation within and between populations. All but one population were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, indicating that Zostera marina is predominantly outcrossing. From a regression of the pairwise population differentiation with distance, we obtained an effective population size Ne of 2440–5000. The overall genetic differentiation among eelgrass populations, assessed as ρ (a standardized estimate of Slatkin’s RST) was 0.384 (95% CI 0.34–0.44, P < 0.001). Genetic differentiation was weak among three North Sea populations situated 12–42 km distant from one another, suggesting that tidal currents result in an efficient exchange of propagules. In the Baltic and in Nova Scotia, a small but statistically significant fraction of the genetic variance was distributed between populations (ρ = 0.029-0.053) at scales of 15–35 km. Pairwise genetic differentiation between European populations were correlated with distance between populations up to a distance of 4500 km (linear differentiation-by-distance model, R2 = 0.67). In contrast, both Nova Scotian populations were genetically much closer to North Sea and Baltic populations than expected from their geographical distance (pairwise ρ = 0.03-0.08, P < 0.01). A biogeographical cluster of Canadian with Baltic/North Sea populations was also supported using a neighbour-joining tree based on Cavalli–Sforza’s chord distance. Relatedness between populations may be very different from predictions based on geographical vicinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In traditional chlorophytan systems the organizational level was the primary character for the distinction of main groups (classes and orders). For instance, in Fott (1971), the flagellate level corresponds with the Volvocales, the coccoid level with the Chlorococcales, the filamentous level with the Ulotrichales, the siphonocladous level with the Siphonocladales, and the siphonous level with the Bryopsidales. The new system presented here is an elaboration and emendation of recently proposed taxonomies and their underlying phylogenetic hypotheses, and it is mainly based on ultrastructural features which have become available over the last 15 years. The following criteria are used for the distinction of classes and orders: (1) architecture of the flagellate cell (flagellate cells are considered as the depositories of primitive characters); (2) type of mitosis-cytokinesis; (3) place of meiosis in the life history and, consequently, the sexual life history type; (4) organizational level and thallus architecture; (5) habitat type (marine versus feshwater and terrestrial); (6) chloroplast type. The following classes are presented: Prasinophyceae, Chlamydophyceae, Ulvophyceae (orders Codiolales, Ulvales, Cladophorales, Bryopsidales, Dasycladales), Pleurastrophyceae (?), Chlorophyceae s.s. (orders Cylindrocapsales, Oedogoniales, Chaetophorales), Zygnematophyceae, Trentepohliophyceae, Charophyceae (orders Klebsormidiales, Coleochaetales, Charales). The new system no longer reflects the traditional hypothesis of a stepwise evolutionary progression of organizational levels in which the flagellate level represents the most primitive lineage, the coccoid and sarcinoid levels lineages of intermediate derivation, and the filamentous, siphonocladous and siphonous levels the most derived lineages. Instead, it is now hypothesized that these levels have arisen over and over again in different chlorophytan lineages which are primarily characterized by their type of flagellate cell. The flagellate green algal classes Prasinophyceae (with organic body scales) and Chlamydophyceae probably represent bundles of highly conservative lineages that diverged very long ago. Consequently, extant genera and species in these classes can be expected to have emerged long ago. Fossil evidence points to a minimum age of 600 Ma of certain extant Prasinophycean genera, and molecular evidence to a minimum age of 400-500 Ma of a few Chlamydomonas species. On the contrary, the most derived 'green algal' lineage, the Angiosperms, can be expected to consist of, on average, much younger genera and species. Fossil evidence points to a minimum age of genera of 5-60 Ma. Lineages of intermediate evolutionary derivation (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Charophyceae) can be expected to encompass genera and species of intermediate age. Fossil and (limited) molecular evidence point to a minimum age of 230-70 Ma of extant genera in Bryopsidales, Dasycladales and Cladophorales (Ulvophyceae) and of 250-80 Ma of extant genera in Charales (Charophyceae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA-DNA hybridizations between single-copy nuclear DNA from Laminaria digitata and total DNA from L. saccharina, L. Hyperborea, L. rodriguezii, L. ochroleuca and Chorda filum, respectively, show that these species of Laminaria are genotypically closely related. Chorda filum is only distantly related with L. digitata. Based on the thermal elution patterns of the DNA hybrids, as quantified by ΔT values, it is hypothesized that all five species of Laminaria evolved at about the same time from their most recent common ancestor some 15-19 Ma ago. This phylogenetic hypothesis is discussed in relation to the history of modern laminarialean distribution patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic size and complexity were calculated for the pantropical chlorophyte, Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (Cladophorales). Genome characterization of the Hawaiian material by means of DNA renaturation studies showed highly repetitive (31.3%), middle repetitive (42.7%), and single-copy (25.8%) fractions; and an estimated haploid genome size of 1.79 pg DNA. A G:C content of 43% was calculated from a melting curve of DNA. Pacific and Caribbean isolates of this species were compared using single-copy nuclear DNA-DNA hybridization. Results show a relatively low thermal stability of the hybridized DNA (Δ Tm(e)=10°C) which suggests that these Pacific and Caribbean lineages may have been separated for up to 55 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency limits within which dichotic pitch fusion occurs have been measured as a function of the frequency. The relative frequency differences for the centers of the fusion frequency bands for pure tones coincide with those for binaural diplacusis at corresponding frequencies. A complex (residue) sound fuses only if the fusing conditions for all its individual spectral components are fulfilled. Dichotic fusion of repetition pitch (produced by mixing noise with the same noise, delayed) occurs only if the same noise source is used to produce the signals that are presented to the two ears. Some additional data are presented from experiments with dichotic stimulation with tones of different intensities, where a monotic pitch shift towards the loudest signal is found. Subject Classification: [43]65.54, [43]65.62. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate how episodes of geological and climatic change have influenced the distribution and evolutionary diversification of Arctic to cold temperate-North Atlantic seaweed species, intraspecific genetic variation was analyzed among isolates of the sublittoral, benthic red alga Phycodrys rubens (collected between June 1992 and January 1994). Rooted phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences and the plastid encoded Rubisco spacer sequences suggest that P. rubens invaded the North Atlantic from the Pacific shortly after the opening of the Bering Strait (3 to 3.5 million years ago), colonizing both the western and eastern Atlantic coasts. Based on these data we further hypothesize that P. rubens survived along the European coasts during the more recent Pleistocene glaciations, while becoming locally extinct along the North American Atlantic coasts. Following retraction of the last ice sheet, the western Atlantic coast was colonized a second time from the Pacific. The presence of two distinct genetic types (based on ITS and Rubisco sequences) along the European coasts is postulated to be a result of isolation and subsequent differentiation. This is likely because ice-free areas are known to have existed in northern Scotland and Norway during the last glaciation. The presence of an East Atlantic genetic type along the West Atlantic coast is believed to be a recent introduction (caused by human activity) of P. rubens to Newfoundland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two examples of the most extreme biogeographic disjunctions in benthic marine algae are found in Acrosiphonia arcta (Chlorophyta) and Desmarestia viridis/willii (Phaeophyta). Both species are members of the Arctic and Antarctic boreal and subboreal marine floras. Although both genera have temperate species, neither genus has subtropical or tropical representative. Comparisons of the fast-evolving ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer regions among isolates in each of the two species collected from both hemispheres showed an unexpected near sequence identity suggesting that these biogeographic disjunctions are of recent origin, possibly as recent as the last Pleistocene glacial maximum (18000 yr ago). Paleoclimatic explanations that rely on a much earlier transequatorial passage of cold-adapted species through a narrowed and cooler tropical belt during the Oligocene/Miocene (38 to 7 Ma ago) are unlikely. We hypothesize that despite the separated evolutionary histories of the northern and southern hemisphere coldwater marine floras, deep-water dispersal of microthalli has occurred and probably occurs on a regular basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic relationships between North Atlantic, Australian and Japanese isolates of the benthic seaweed Cladophora albida (Huds.) Kütz. were examined in 1987 by means of DNA-DNA hybridization. The data indicate that C. albida can be divided into a North Atlantic and an Indo-West Pacific group with an intergroup hybridization response of 25 to 30% and 5.5° to 6.0°C for hybridization percentage and Δ T the melting temperature reduction of hybridized sequences, respectively. This level of genome divergence is considerably higher than that observed in most other eukaryotes. The separation between the two C. albida groups presumably dates back to the closure of the Asian part of the Tethys Ocean, about 12 million years ago. The data also indicate that transatlantic C. albida populations have a greater genetic inter-relatedness than have Japanese and Australian populations. In C. albida there is no clear correlation between molecular evolution and the evolution of morphological traits. C. albida and C. rupestris (L.) Kütz have hardly any DNA sequences in common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zostera noltii is an important species of eelgrass occurring along European, north African, Mediterranean, Black Sea and Azov Sea coasts. Nine microsatellite loci were developed and no linkage disequilibrium was observed. Cross-amplification was observed for all loci (polymorphic) in Z. japonica; only four loci amplified (monomorphic) in Z. marina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fucus serratus and F. evanescens commonly occur on Northern European shores. Nine microsatellite loci were developed for F. serratus (8-22 alleles, observed heterozygosities = 0.367-0.850) and one for F. evanescens (seven alleles, observed heterozygosity = 0.804). Cross-amplification was apparent, as five F. serratus loci were polymorphic in F. evanescens and 2-5 were polymorphic in F. vesiculosus, F. distichus, and F. spiralis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven microsatellite loci were developed for Pleuronectes platessa, a commercially important flatfish found throughout northern European waters. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 11 to 33 and heterozygosities from 0.74 to 0.96. Cross-reactivity was tested against six other flatfish species. Significant amplification was found in all species from one to all seven of the loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ascophyllum nodosum L. dominates rocky intertidal shores throughout the temperate North Atlantic. Six microsatellite loci were developed for A. nodosum using enriched libraries. The number of alleles ranged from 9 to 24 and heterozygosities from 0.2213 to 0.7785. Ascophyllum is monotypic. There was no cross-reactivity observed with Fucus serratus, F. vesiculosus or F. evanescens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterizes the microsatellite loci in the filamentous green alga, Cladophoropsis membranacea. DNA molecular weight; Genomic DNA fractionation; Estimate heterozygosity; Number of alleles per locus.