Genetic variation and phylogeny of the cosmopolitan marine genus Tubificoides (Annelida: Clitellata: Naididae: Tubificinae)

Prior attempts to resolve the phylogenetic relationships of the cosmopolitan, marine clitellate genus Tubificoides, using only morphology, resulted in unresolved trees. In this study, three mitochondrial and three nuclear loci (5912 aligned sites) were analyzed, representing 14 morphologically separate species. Genetic distances within and between these forms on the basis of the mitochondrial genes (COI, 16S and 12S) revealed that 18 distinct mitochondrial lineages were represented in the data set. After analyzing also nuclear data (28S, 18S and ITS) we conclude that 17 separately evolving lineages (i.e., phylogenetic species) were represented, including three new, cryptic species closely related to T. pseudogaster, T. amplivasatus and T. insularis, respectively. Special emphasis was put on the DNA barcoding gene (COI), which was subject to haplotype diversity analysis and, for four species, diagnostic position (as determined by the Characteristic Attribute Organization System [CAOS]) screening. Typically, the intralineage variation was 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller than the interlineage divergence, making COI useful for identification of species within Tubificoides. The genetic data corroborate that many of the morphospecies are coherent but widely distributed metapopulations. Monophyly of the genus is supported and the evolutionary history of parts of the genus is revealed by phylogenetic analysis of the combined data set. A northern hemisphere origin of the genus is suggested, and most of the widely distributed species are members of one particular clade. Two morphological characters previously emphasized in Tubificoides taxonomy (hair chaetae and cuticular papillation) were optimized on the phylogenetic tree, revealing considerable homoplasy, belying the utility of these features as phylogenetic markers.

Research highlights► Monophyly of Tubificoides supported. ► Four cryptic species revealed. ► High genetic variation and haplotype diversity.