This presentation was a part of the 5th International Symposium on Anchialine Ecosystems (5ISAE), held in Kailua-Kona November 3-5, 2022.
Presentation 26: “Insights into molecular ecology, genomics, and physiology of Halocaridina rubra: developing a model species for anchialine research”
Session 7: Hawai‘i – Biological Sciences
Presentation Authors: Justin C. Havird (1); James Wilson (1), Hilary Perales (2), Kendra D. Maclaine (1), Chase H. Smith (1)
Affiliations: (1) University of Texas at Austin; (2) Crockett High School, Austin, TX USA
Presentation Abstract: Anchialine habitats and organisms are natural models to investigate key biological processes, including environmental adaptation and speciation. In the anchialine habitats of Hawai‘i, Halocaridina rubra, a small red atyid shrimp, is the most widespread and abundant macro-organism. This species is a key component of healthy anchialine habitats and may act as an ecosystem engineer by grazing on benthic microbial communities. It is also of significant cultural importance to native peoples. Mitochondrial genomic from H. rubra suggest distinct populations across the Hawaiian Islands may represent cryptic species. However, well-assembled nuclear genomes are not available for anchialine organisms, including H. rubra. We therefore used reduced representation genome sequencing (2B-RAD) of shrimp populations from across the Hawaiian Islands to ask whether the signal of population structure based on mtDNA extends to nuclear loci. We also pursued a deep-sequencing strategy based on proximity ligation (Hi-C), long-sequence reads (PacBio), and standard Illumina sequencing to attempt to assemble a near chromosome-level reference genome for H. rubra. Finally, we asked whether shrimp with different mtDNA haplotypes had different baseline oxygen consumption rates (resting metabolic rate) and mitochondrial respiration. This work complements previous studies on H. rubra and has implications for the role of mtDNA in speciation, environmental adaptation to anchialine habitats, and crustacean genomics. We also discuss whether H. rubra may represent a cryptic species complex, and whether some populations may benefit from special conservation status.
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