Poli’s stellate barnacle, Chthamalus stellatus Poli, populates the Mediterranean Sea, the North-Eastern Atlantic coasts, and the offshore Eastern Atlantic islands. Previous studies have found apparent genetic differences between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean populations of C. stellatus, suggesting possible geological and oceanographic explanations for these differences. We have studied the genetic diversity of 14 populations spanning from the Eastern Atlantic to the Eastern Mediterranean, using two nuclear genes sequences revealing a total of 63 polymorphic sites. Both genotype-based, haplotype-based and the novel SNP distribution population-based methods have found that these populations represent a geographic cline along the west to east localities. The differences in SNP distribution among populations further separates a major western cluster into two smaller clusters, the Eastern Atlantic and the Western Mediterranean. It also separates the major eastern cluster into two smaller clusters, the Mid-Mediterranean and Eastern Mediterranean. We suggested here environmental conditions like surface currents, water salinity and temperature as probable factors that have formed the population structure. We demonstrate that C. stellatus is a suitable model organism for studying how geological events and hydrographic conditions shape the fauna in the Mediterranean Sea.

中文翻译：

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一颗恒星被撕裂——分子分析将波利的星状藤壶 Chthamalus stellatus（Cirripedia，Chtamalidae）的地中海种群分开

波利的星状藤壶 Chthamalus stellatus Poli 栖息在地中海、大西洋东北海岸和东大西洋近海岛屿。先前的研究发现大西洋和地中海的星状藻种群之间存在明显的遗传差异，这表明这些差异可能存在地质和海洋学解释。我们研究了从东大西洋到东地中海的 14 个种群的遗传多样性，使用两个核基因序列揭示了总共 63 个多态位点。基于基因型、基于单倍型和新的基于 SNP 分布群体的方法都发现这些群体代表了沿西到东地区的地理分布。人群中 SNP 分布的差异进一步将一个主要的西部集群分为两个较小的集群，即东大西洋和西地中海。它还将主要的东部星团分成两个较小的星团，地中海中部和地中海东部。我们在这里建议环境条件，如地表水流、水盐度和温度，作为形成人口结构的可能因素。我们证明 C. stellatus 是研究地质事件和水文条件如何塑造地中海动物群的合适模式生物。我们在这里建议环境条件，如地表水流、水盐度和温度，作为形成人口结构的可能因素。我们证明 C. stellatus 是研究地质事件和水文条件如何塑造地中海动物群的合适模式生物。我们在这里建议环境条件，如地表水流、水盐度和温度，作为形成人口结构的可能因素。我们证明 C. stellatus 是研究地质事件和水文条件如何塑造地中海动物群的合适模式生物。