engleski

Towards the DNA barcode reference library for European freshwater crustaceans. A summary of recent efforts

Background: The factual diversity of European freshwater crustaceans is scarcely known. This is particularly surprising taking into account their wide applicability in biomonitoring as well as in ecotoxicological and phylogeographical studies. Crustacea, particularly Malacostraca, play a fundamental role in functioning of freshwater ecosystems, being key taxa in biodiversity conservation. On the other hand, several species are known to be successful invaders posing a threat on local communities. Recent molecular studies on decapods, amphipods, isopods, and mysids show that their real diversity greatly exceeds the number of already described morphospecies. Yet, its large-scale spatial pattern and onset are still weakly understood. Results: So far we have obtained more than 8000 COI DNA barcodes for malacostracan crustaceans from all over Europe and combined them with barcodes already existing in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) and GenBank. We covered the traditionally recognized Mediterranean biodiversity hotspots, the northern post- glacial regions, lowland and alpine areas, lakes, rivers, and spring systems. We discovered presence of very high cryptic diversity and numerous molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) endemic for mountain ranges, even in relatively high latitudes, as well as for more southern lowland areas. On the other hand, we observed the presence of several widespread MOTUs with dynamic demography in post-glacial regions. With the aid of other molecular markers we could attribute the observed diversity patterns, even at species level, to a series of geological and climatic processes ranging from Neogene to the retreat of Pleistocene Ice Sheet as well as to very recent anthropogenic factors. Significance: Our study is a first attempt to construct a comprehensive and publicly available COI DNA barcode library for freshwater malacostracan crustaceans in Europe. Proper identification of MOTUs, as well as mapping and understanding their distribution, is of utmost importance when using crustacean models in evolutionary/ecological studies, biomonitoring, and risk assessments.

molecular barcoding

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