Biology subjects

Temiz, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Temiz, B..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Species delimitation of eight ascidian (Tunicata) species from the North Eastern Mediterranean

Members of the tunicates, a subphylum of marine filter-feeder chordates, inhabit all marine and oceanic habitats from the subtidal to the abyssal. Considered as the closest relatives to the vertebrates, the tunicates are widely used as model organisms for evo-devo, allorecognition, senescence, and whole-body regeneration studies. Yet, species boundaries are poorly understood due to high morphological and genetic plasticity that characterize many tunicates taxa. Here we study taxonomy and the distribution of eight tunicate species (Botrylloides niger Herdman, 1886/ aff. leachii, Botrylloides israeliense Brunetti, 2009, Botrylloides sp., Botrylloides anceps (Herdman, 1891), Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766), Didemnum perlucidum Monniot F., 1983, Symplegma brakenhielmi (Michaelsen, 1904) and Polyclinum constellatum Savigny, 1816) sampled from six Turkish North Eastern Mediterranean Sea sites and employed the mitochondrial barcoding marker (COI) for evaluating the relationships among geographically restricted and widely spread ascidian species. Species delimitation analysis was conducted using NCBI and the present study sequences. Morphological examinations were first done in the field and then, styelide colonies were cultured in the laboratory and studied using stereo and light microscopes. A putative new Botrylloides species (Botrylloides sp.) from the Antalya region was revealed, with 99% matching on the COI gene from Saudi Arabia, further awaiting for detailed traditional taxonomy.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2022

Phylogeographic and morphological analysis of Botrylloides niger Herdman, 1886 from the northeastern Mediterranean Sea

Botrylloides niger is an invasive marine filter-feeding invertebrate that is believed to originate from the West Atlantic region. This species of colonial tunicate has been observed on several locations along the coasts of Israel and around the Suez Canal but it has not yet been reported on the coasts of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea (NEMS), suggesting an ongoing Lessepsian migration. However, the extent of this invasion might be concealed by reports of other potentially misidentified species of Botrylloides, given that the strong morphological similarities within this genus renders taxonomical identification particularly challenging. In this study, we performed a phylogeographic and morphological analysis of B. niger in the NEMS. We collected 241 samples from 8 sampling stations covering 824 km of coastlines of NEMS. We reported 14 different morphotypes, of which the orange-brown, orange and brown-striped morphs were the most abundant. Using the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase I (COI), one of the four most commonly used DNA barcoding marker, we identified 4 haplotypes with the Konack (H4) and the Mezitli (H3) ones being the most diverged. The COI haplotypes clustered with the reference B. niger sequences from GenBank and separated from sister Botrylloides species with high confidence. We confirmed our identification using the three additional barcoding markers (Histone 3, 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA), which all matched with over 99% similarity to the reference sequences. In addition, we monitored the Kzkalesi station for a year and applied temporal analysis to the colonies collected. The colonies regressed during winter while resettled and expanded during summer. We performed gene flow analysis on our spatial data that identified a possible population subdivision at the sampling site of Side, which might be caused by a local freshwater input. Overall, we here present the first report on the presence of Botrylloides niger in the NEMS, we show that this species is commonly present throughout this region and with a particularly high morphological as well as genomic diversity.

zoology↗

bioRxiv2022

Variation in whole-body regeneration between Botrylloides morphs and species

Regeneration is a characteristic of the animal kingdom, and regenerative capacity is limited to higher taxonomical levels. In contrast, some basal animals like urochordates maintain a unique regeneration capacity, such as undergoing whole-body regeneration (WBR), an ability not observed in other chordates. Botryllids are colonial urochordates that can recreate new bodies through WBR from solely vascular tissue within ~2 weeks. To date, some species from the botryllid family were reported to orchestrate WBR, including B. diegensis. This study provided two novel records of WBR of B. jacksonianum and B. aff. anceps along with the two distinct morphs of B. diegensis. Interestingly, B. aff. anceps executed twin-body regeneration while this was limited to one-body for B. jacksonianum and B. diegensis. Histological sections validate the formation of multiple niches during WBR. Furthermore, the process of regeneration is phenotypically more similar between B. aff. anceps and B. diegensis. In contrast, the type of WBR in B. jacksonianum is similar to vascular budding as the niches were built from the vascular epithelium without undergoing significant tissue remodelling.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Identification and characterisation of Botrylloides species from Aotearoa New Zealand coasts

Ascidians are marine filter feeder primitive chordates. Botrylloides ascidians possess diverse biological abilities like whole-body regeneration (WBR), hibernation/aestivation, blastogenesis, metamorphosis, and natural chimerism. However, the absence of distinctive morphological features often makes identification problematic. Botrylloides diegensis is an ascidian that has been misidentified in previous studies and is recorded in GenBank as Botrylloides leachii due to the high morphological similarity between the sister species. More available sequences and strategies around identification would help resolve some of the confusion currently surrounding its ambiguous nature. We collected several Botrylloides samples from 7 locations around New Zealand - Dunedin, Christchurch, Picton, Nelson, Whangateau, New Plymouth and Invercargill - and barcoded the species based on Cytochrome Oxidase I, Histone 3, 18S, and 28S ribosomal RNA markers. Network and Bayesian trees confirmed the presence of three Botrylloides species: B. diegensis, B. jacksonianum, and B. aff. anceps. Additionally, morphotypes of three species were investigated regarding zooid size, area, tentacle numbers and colonial arrangement.

genetics↗