In this study, we investigated the global population genetic structure of the polychaete, Harmothoe imbricata, to determine connectivity patterns within the species. We sequenced the mtDNA marker, cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) from 29 specimens sampled across three sites from the New England coast of the United States. These were supplemented with 145 archived sequences from GenBank and the Barcode of Life Database, representing 16 global populations, which encompassed three broadly defined marine biogeographic regions: the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic. The resulting haplotype network and pairwise AMOVA results showed marked structure across all the major biogeographic regions and also provides evidence for cryptic diversity in the species. Haplotypes from Arctic populations were more closely related to each other than those from the northwestern and northeastern Atlantic. Two evolutionary divergent lineages were recovered from Los Angeles, California and Manitoba, Canada. The highest genetic diversity was observed in the Arctic populations, providing evidence for an Arctic origin for H. imbricata. While human-mediated introductions may have likely contributed to some of the genetic patterns observed in this study, future work should incorporate a nuclear DNA component which could shed more light on contemporary movement of this species across large spatial scales.

在这项研究中，我们调查了多毛Har（Harmothoe imbricata）的全球种群遗传结构，以确定物种内的连通性模式。我们对来自美国新英格兰海岸三个地点的29个标本中的mtDNA标记，细胞色素C氧化酶I（COI）进行了测序。这些补充了来自GenBank和生命条形码的145个存档序列，代表16个全球人口，其中包括三个广泛定义的海洋生物地理区域：大西洋，太平洋和北极。所得的单倍型网络和成对的AMOVA结果在所有主要生物地理区域均显示出明显的结构，也为该物种的隐秘多样性提供了证据。北极种群的单倍型比西北大西洋和东北大西洋的单倍型更为紧密。从洛杉矶回收了两个进化分歧谱系，加利福尼亚和加拿大曼尼托巴。在北极种群中观察到最高的遗传多样性，为北极起源提供了证据。H.玳瑁。尽管人为介导的引入可能有助于本研究中观察到的某些遗传模式，但未来的工作应纳入核DNA成分，这可能会更深入地揭示该物种在较大空间尺度上的当代运动。