Population structure in marine organisms: from genetics to genomics
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1
Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Spain
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2
Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBIO), Spain
Ecosystems survival relies on the capacity of species to cope with environmental change. Connectivity among populations is a key factor to ensure long-term survival of these ecosystems and the species within them. The establishment of networks of marine protected areas can allow preserving biodiversity at large scale. The evaluation of population genetic structure across taxa is fundamental for the effective design of these networks. Genetic differentiation differs among species according to their dispersal capabilities, reproductive season or behaviour traits, among others. Moreover, oceanographic discontinuities reducing gene flow in the study area, as well as environmental characteristics determining local adaptation, are drivers of population differentiation sometimes undetected. In marine species, several molecular markers have been successfully applied to identify patterns of genetic differentiation across geographic gradients and through time. However, the ability to identify population structure may depend on the marker diversity, the genome region being analysed, and the species population history. For the last decades, our group has analysed invertebrate and vertebrate marine species, from habitat formers to highly migratory species, mostly with mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA markers. Overall, our research is showing the importance of historical and current processes on the spatial distribution of genetic diversity.
In recent years, the application of high-throughput sequencing technologies in species without reference genome is allowing us to tackle new challenges in the assessment of marine biodiversity, conservation, adaptation, connectivity, and human impact, in both native and introduced marine species across different taxa. Genome-wide data at the individual level is offering us the opportunity to assess the effect of dispersal, selection and genetic drift on population structure. Understanding these evolutionary processes is fundamental to provide scientifically sound information for managing marine biodiversity, at large as well as at fine scales. Examples in native and introduced marine species will be discussed.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by project PopCOmics (TM2017-88080) from the Spanish Government. This is a contribution from the Consolidated Research Group “Benthic Biology and Ecology” SGR2017-1120 (Catalan Government).
Keywords:
Popualtion genetics,
adaptation,
connectivity,
Genomics,
Marine species
Conference:
XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) , Braga, Portugal, 9 Sep - 12 Sep, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Keynote talk
Topic:
Keynote lecture
Citation:
Pascual
M
(2019). Population structure in marine organisms: from genetics to genomics.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) .
doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.08.00002
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Received:
02 Aug 2019;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Mx. Marta Pascual, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, martapascual@ub.edu