Dear Marmam
Readers:
We are pleased to
announce the publication of the following paper in Marine Mammal Science:
Evaluating the utility of cox1 for cetacean species
identification
A. Viricel and P.E. Rosel
Article first
published online: 17 MAR 2011
DOI:
10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00460.x
If you are
interested in a pdf please email request to:
viricel[at]louisiana[dot]edu
For subscribers
to Marine Mammal Science, it can be downloaded from:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00460.x/abstract
Abstract: The
mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (cox1) gene has been
promoted as a universal reference gene, or barcode, to identify organisms to
the species level. We evaluated whether cox1 would be appropriate to
diagnose cetacean species. The 5ˇä end of cox1 (686 base pairs, bp) was
sequenced for 46 of 86 recognized species of cetaceans. In addition, we
included 105 sequences from GenBank, increasing our taxonomic coverage to 61
species. Particular focus was placed on sampling two subfamilies that contain
closely related taxa: the Delphininae and the Globicephalinae. Species-specific
sequences were observed for all but three taxa (Delphinus delphis, D.
capensis, and Stenella coeruleoalba). Although correct assignment
was seen for most species, significant overlap between intra- and interspecific
variation makes cox1 an imperfect barcode for cetaceans. The efficacy of
cox1 was compared to the 5ˇä end of the cytochrome b (cytb)
gene, a mitochondrial region routinely used for cetacean species
identification. Although cytb performed better than cox1 for some
species, this marker could not differentiate other closely related taxa (Eubalaena
spp.). Species identification for taxa not reliably identified using cox1
or cytb might be best addressed through use of multiple mitochondrial
DNA fragments or other newly developed markers.
Best regards,
Am¨¦lia Viricel
Am¨¦lia Viricel,
Ph.D. Candidate
University of
Louisiana at Lafayette, Biology Dept.
300 E St Mary
Blvd, Billeaud Hall rm 108
Lafayette LA 70504
USA