Molecular Evolution of Marine Invertebrates

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Evolutionary Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2021) | Viewed by 3937

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: bioinformatics; marine invertebrates; DNA barcoding; biodiversity

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: ecology; marine biology; evolutionary biology; DNA metabarcoding

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), Department of Biology, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: human genetics; phylogeography; phylogenetics; genomics; population genetics; bioinformatics; microbial genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The exceptional and recent development of cutting-edge molecular technologies has enabled the investigation of biodiversity and evolutionary processes with unprecedented taxonomic resolution and hitherto unattainable temporal and spatial frequency.

Large-scale genomic initiatives such as the International Barcode of Life/BIOSCAN, Tree of Life, Earth Biogenome Project, and the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance further contributed to the production of massive amounts of molecular data across the sweep of life. While important progress has been made in the understanding of molecular evolution in particular groups of organisms, such as vertebrates (e.g., fish, birds) and terrestrial invertebrates, marine invertebrates still lag behind. A synthesis is still missing for this phylogenetically hyperdiverse group despite numerous independent contributions over the last decade.

This Special Issue of Life aims to fill this gap by bringing together key contributions, case studies, and major syntheses providing new insights into patterns and mechanisms of molecular evolution in marine invertebrates that are now within reach thanks to data availability and state-of the-art molecular technologies. Contributions must have a fair taxonomic coverage or a meaningful impact for current knowledge, if taxonomically focused, and adhere to the following main topics:

  1. Molecular biodiversity analysis;
  2. Phylogenetics and phylogeography;
  3. Evolutionary rates and clock calibration;
  4. New molecular methodologies or bioinformatics analyses;
  5. Seascape genetics and population genomics;
  6. Genomic and transcriptomic basis of selection processes. 

Dr. Pedro Vieira
Prof. Dr. Filipe Costa
Dr. Pedro Soares
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ecology
  • marine biology
  • evolutionary biology
  • DNA metabarcoding
  • bioinformatics
  • marine invertebrates
  • DNA barcoding
  • biodiversity
  • genomics
  • phylogeography

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2738 KiB  
Article
Disentangling the Taxonomic Status of Caprella penantis sensu stricto (Amphipoda: Caprellidae) Using an Integrative Approach
by M. Pilar Cabezas, José M. Guerra-García and António M. Santos
Life 2022, 12(2), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12020155 - 21 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2784
Abstract
Despite its importance in intertidal and shallow-water marine ecosystems, Caprella penantis continues to be one of the most taxonomically challenging amphipods in the world. A recent molecular study focusing on C. penantis sensu stricto pointed out the existence of three highly divergent lineages, [...] Read more.
Despite its importance in intertidal and shallow-water marine ecosystems, Caprella penantis continues to be one of the most taxonomically challenging amphipods in the world. A recent molecular study focusing on C. penantis sensu stricto pointed out the existence of three highly divergent lineages, indicating the possible existence of a process of ongoing speciation and, thus, casting doubt on the taxonomic status of this species. In the present study, we used an integrative approach to continue to shed light on the taxonomy and distribution of this caprellid. To this end, we combined morphological and genetic data (COI and 18S) and included, for the first time, populations from its type locality. Our analyses provide strong evidence of the existence of potentially three distinct species, genetically and geographically restricted, within C. penantis sensu stricto, with the distribution of the true C. penantis sensu stricto restricted to the UK (type locality), the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and the Azores. Results show the co-occurrence of two of these species in a locality of northern Portugal and indicate the existence of distinct evolutionary and diversification patterns along the eastern Atlantic region. Overall, our study highlights the use of an integrative approach to properly assess species boundaries and unravel hidden biodiversity in amphipods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Evolution of Marine Invertebrates)
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