같은 속에 속하는 북극해 성게 두 종, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis와 S. pallidus의 형태 및 분자형질에 의한 구분

Abstract

Regular sea urchins of the family Strongylocentrotidae belonging to the phylum Echinodermata (spiny skinned animals) have been model organisms in marine biology. In the Arctic sea, there are two species, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis and S. pallidus of which identification is often confused by appearance. Here, we analyzed discriminating characters between the two Arctic species in terms of molecular and morphological characteristics. For the molecular characters, we analyzed mt DNA sequences of 12SrDNA (838nt) and cytochorome oxidase subunit I (COI, 1078nt). Different nucleotides between the two species are observed at 18 sites (2.14%) in 12SrDNA and 43 sites (3.99%) in COI sequences. For morphological characters, we noticed differences in the tube feet color (dark vs light), the number of pore pairs (5-6 vs 6-7) and the number of wedges in primary spines (26-36 vs 17-26). These total evidences provide useful means of identification for the two hitherto confused Arctic sea urchin species. *This study was supported by the marine-bio 21 program of MOMAF and a basic research fund of KORDI.