Bathymetric Patterns of Genetic Variation in Deep-Sea Mollusks

摘要深海是一个覆盖地球表面三分之二以上的环境，然而人们对产生丰富而特有的深海动物群的过程知之甚少。分子技术提供了一种独特的方法来解决基本的生态和进化问题，否则在这个遥远和陌生的环境中是难以解决的。本研究将利用现代分子遗传学工具量化现有深海软体动物的地理变异，记录遗传变异的模式，并测试与这些模式相关的特定假设。此外，该研究将量化北大西洋西部沿深度梯度排列的两个重要深海分类群（腹足类和双壳类）的几个物种的种群遗传结构。利用遗传变异模式，首席研究员将确定同种群体之间的遗传差异是否随着深度的增加而减少，与观察到的表型距离模式平行。这项研究还将提供基因流动的估计，确定深海种群的结构，并为遗传研究提供新的软体动物特异性引物。

9402855 Etter PROJECT ABSTRACT The deep sea is an environment that covers more than two-thirds of the earth's surface, yet little is known about the processes that have generated the rich and endemic deep- sea fauna. Molecular techniques offer a unique method for addressing fundamental ecological and evolutionary questions that would otherwise by intractable in this remote and alien environment. This study will quantify geographic variation from existing collections of deep-sea mollusks using contemporary molecular genetic tools, document patterns of genetic variation, and test specific hypotheses related to those patterns. In addition, the research will quantify the population genetic structure of several species from two important deep-sea taxa (gastropods and bivalves) arrayed along a depth gradient in the western north Atlantic. Using patterns of genetic variation, the Principal Investigator will determine if genetic divergence among conspecific populations decreases with depth paralleling observed patterns of phenotypic distance. The research will also provide estimates of gene flow, identify the structure of deep-sea populations and provide new molluscan-specific primers for use in genetic studies.