A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification

Pocillopora damicornis is one of the most extensively studied coral species globally, but high levels of phenotypic plasticity within the genus make species identification based on morphology alone unreliable. As a result, there is a compelling need to develop cheap and time-effective molecular tech...

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Main Authors: Thomas, L., Stat, Michael, Evans, R., Kennington, W.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer Verlag 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38378
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author Thomas, L.
Stat, Michael
Evans, R.
Kennington, W.
author_facet Thomas, L.
Stat, Michael
Evans, R.
Kennington, W.
author_sort Thomas, L.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Pocillopora damicornis is one of the most extensively studied coral species globally, but high levels of phenotypic plasticity within the genus make species identification based on morphology alone unreliable. As a result, there is a compelling need to develop cheap and time-effective molecular techniques capable of accurately distinguishing P. damicornis from other congeneric species. Here, we develop a fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay to genotype a single nucleotide polymorphism that accurately distinguishes P. damicornis from other morphologically similar Pocillopora species. We trial the assay across colonies representing multiple Pocillopora species and then apply the assay to screen samples of Pocillopora spp. collected at regional scales along the coastline of Western Australia. This assay offers a cheap and time-effective alternative to Sanger sequencing and has broad applications including studies on gene flow, dispersal, recruitment and physiological thresholds of P. damicornis.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:54:11Z
publishDate 2016
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-383782017-09-13T14:09:30Z A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification Thomas, L. Stat, Michael Evans, R. Kennington, W. Pocillopora damicornis is one of the most extensively studied coral species globally, but high levels of phenotypic plasticity within the genus make species identification based on morphology alone unreliable. As a result, there is a compelling need to develop cheap and time-effective molecular techniques capable of accurately distinguishing P. damicornis from other congeneric species. Here, we develop a fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay to genotype a single nucleotide polymorphism that accurately distinguishes P. damicornis from other morphologically similar Pocillopora species. We trial the assay across colonies representing multiple Pocillopora species and then apply the assay to screen samples of Pocillopora spp. collected at regional scales along the coastline of Western Australia. This assay offers a cheap and time-effective alternative to Sanger sequencing and has broad applications including studies on gene flow, dispersal, recruitment and physiological thresholds of P. damicornis. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38378 10.1007/s00338-016-1430-3 Springer Verlag restricted
spellingShingle Thomas, L.
Stat, Michael
Evans, R.
Kennington, W.
A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification
title A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification
title_full A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification
title_fullStr A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification
title_full_unstemmed A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification
title_short A fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR assay for accurate Pocillopora damicornis species identification
title_sort fluorescence-based quantitative real-time pcr assay for accurate pocillopora damicornis species identification
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38378