DNA Sequencing of 18s Ribosomal RNA Genes of the Northern Star Coral (Astrangia poculata) Collected from New Jersey Artificial Reefs.

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to investigate the distribution and molecular evolution of the Northern Star coral Astrangia poculata on artificial reefs and shipwrecks in the local coastal ocean. This region is generally devoid of natural hard structure habitat, consisting primarily of gently sloping sandy plains. Most corals live in tropical to sub-tropical waters above 20ºC and cannot tolerate high turbidity. The Northern Star Coral is an exception in that it is found from the sub-tropics to the temperate zone on hard surfaces. Northern Star Coral colonies can be encrusting, massive or branching. Individual coral colonies were sampled from seven collection sites offshore of Atlantic City, New Jersey at depths from 20-30 m. Coral samples containing at least 5-10 corallites per sample were collected by scuba diver. Between 10-30 mg of tissue was extracted from individual polyps using a Qiagen DNA extraction kit (Qiagen Corp). DNA was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using eukaryotic universal primers for the small subunit (18s) ribosomal RNA gene. PCR products were cloned in pGemT (Promega) and plasmid preparations were cycle sequenced to determine the exact DNA base sequence of the individual being typed. This DNA sequence information was aligned and analyzed to determine the genetic relationship of the individuals using a reference A. poculata sequence from GenBank. In general, genetic variation between the local sites was found to be very low, but will serve as a baseline for collections over a wider geographic range.