Highly repetitive DNA sequences provide evidence for a lack of gene flow between two morphological forms of Herdmania momus (Ascidiacea: Stolidobranchia)

Abstract

The genomic structure of two morphological forms of the pyurid ascidian Herdmania momus — H. momus forma curvata and H. momus forma grandis—are compared using a rapidly evolving highly repetitive element isolated from the genome of H. momus forma curvata. A 663 bp (base pair) Cla I satellite sequence is present only in the genome of H. momus forma curvata, and hence can be used as a form-specific marker. Low-stringency Southern blot analyses, using the Cla I satellite as a probe, revealed that the genomes of H. momus forma grandis and another pyurid ascidian, Pyura stolonifera, do not contain similar sequences to the H. momus forma curvata repetitive element. In addition to this genomic dissimilarity, there are a number of significant reproductive and developmental differences between the two H. momus forms, and interform fertilisation rates are significantly lower than intraform rates. The molecular, reproductive and developmental differences between H. momus forma curvata and H. momus forma grandis indicate the presence of strong barriers to gene flow.