Morphological identification and phylogenetic analysis of Asteroidea (Echinodermata) in the northern coast of the Persian Gulf

Abstract

Introduction: Asteroidae, or starfish, have about 1900 extant species as one of the classes of phylum Echinodermata. Materials & Methods: Thirty specimens of starfishes were collected from the northern islands of the Persian Gulf for morphological identification, molecular analysis and phylogeny. The first starfish samples were distinguished morphologically then they were identified after DNA extraction by CTAB and Chelex 5% and its amplification based on 16S rRNA gene in molecular analysis. The phylogenetic relationships of asteroids were analyzed using maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods. Result: The morphological and molecular identifications displayed 6 species of Luidia hardwicki, Astropecten indicus, Aquilonastra watersi, Aquilonastra iranica, Linckia laevigata and Pentaceraster mammillatus belonging to 5 genera and 2 families. Our results showed Luidia hardwicki and Astropecten indicus species were grouped with sequences of the same species from GenBank in separate clades. Conclusion: As Aquilonastra watersi and Pentaceraster mammillatus 16S rRNA gene are reported for the first time so their sequences were placed in sister groups with Aquilonastra yairi and Pentaceraster cumingi, respectively.