First Record of Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I gene sequences of Ascidian Polyclinum madrasensis (Sebestian, 1952) from Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India

Selva Prabhu A^*, Ananthan G, And Bala Subramanian T

Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai-608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.

*Corresponding author Email: antonyrajprabhu@gmail.com

Accepted 08 August, 2012

Abstract

Recent studies have revealed that many marine invertebrates are closely associated with diverse microorganisms, frequently resulting in the production of compounds of biomedical interest. During the present investigation mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene sequences was used to identify the tunicate as Polyclinum madrasensis (Sebestian, 1952) this is the first report of this species worldwide. Solitary ascidian Polyclinum madrasensis was collected from the Gulf of Mannar coast in April 2011. The amplified product was sequenced by a commercial lab. The size of the COI was 643 bp in length. The processed sequence was deposited in Gen Bank and got the accession number Polyclinum JN 107814.  This study highlights the power of molecular method for species identification and India’s need for an extensive, systematic molecular inventory of its existing marine invertebrate biodiversity.

Keywords: Biomedical; Ascidian; Molecular Identification; Polyclinum madrasensis