Despite their importance, our knowledge of the biodiversity and phylogeography of sponges in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters is largely unexplored. Such knowledge, however, is necessary to better understand those patterns and processes that generated and maintained sponge diversity in this largely separated marginal sea, and to create a foundation for future exploration of the marine natural resources in this area. Recently, several expeditions resulted in the so far largest sponge collection of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, which now led towards the most comprehensive molecular taxonomic inventory of sponges in this region to date. We analyzed a total of 143 samples molecularly and identified 52 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on 28S and CO1. Additional molecular comparison with the Red Sea sponge fauna indicate a strong differentiation and high levels endemism between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea respectively, supporting findings for other marine phyla.

中文翻译：

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伊朗浅水海绵的分子生物多样性

尽管它们很重要，但我们对波斯湾和邻近水域海绵生物多样性和系统地理学的了解在很大程度上尚未得到探索。然而，这些知识对于更好地了解在这个大体分离的边缘海中产生和维持海绵多样性的模式和过程是必要的，并为未来探索该地区的海洋自然资源奠定基础。最近，几次探险在波斯湾和阿曼湾获得了迄今为止最大的海绵收集，现在导致了该地区迄今为止最全面的海绵分子分类清单。我们共分析了 143 个样本，并基于 28S 和 CO1 确定了 52 个操作分类单元 (OTU)。