The first complete mitogenome of Acharax sp.(Protobranchia,Solemyida,Solemyidae):comparisons with other Solemyidae bivalves and deep-sea adaptive characteristics

Solemyidae is an ancient group of protobranch bivalves,and most solemyids are symbiotic with chemoautotrophic and gill-hosted bacteria,enabling them to survive in unusual habitats such as deepsea chemosynthetic environments.However,evolution of the mitogenomes in this family and their phylogenetic relationships remain poorly understood.The complete mitogenome of Acharax sp.was determined and compared with other available mitogenomes of solemyids.The mitogenome of Acharax sp.is 18970 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes,2 ribosomal RNA genes,and 22 transfer RNA genes.The gene arrangement was identical to those of other sequenced solemyids.For the present five mitogenomes of Solemyidae species,all protein-coding genes were initiated with the typical ATD(ATA,ATG,and ATT)codon and terminated with the TAA/TAG codon.Furthermore,the incomplete termination codon was detected.The Ka/Ks ratio analyses indicated that 13 protein-coding genes of five Solemyidae mitogenomes suffered strong purifying selection.Compared to 45 existing shallow water equivalents,the 18 available mitogenomes from the deep-sea,including the Acharax sp.in this study,show significantly more nonpolar amino acids in the 13 protein-coding genes,which indicates the adaptation to the deep-sea environment.The phylogenetic tree based on 48 Bivalvia complete mitogenomes provided further information to support the scientific classification of protobranchs.The relationships among Solemyidae were assessed based on 2 mitochondrial(16S rRNA and COX1)and 3 nuclear(18S rRNA,28S rRNA,and histone H3)gene sequences from 17 in-group species.The two genera Acharax and Solemya formed a monophyletic clade each,and Acharax sp.clustered with previously reported Acharax bivalves with high support values.

Report of epibenthic macrofauna found from Haima cold seeps and adjacent deep-sea habitats,South China Sea

This work reports on a preliminary taxonomic study of epibenthic macroinvertebrates collected or observed by underwater video at the Haima cold seeps and in adjacent deep-sea habitats,including a mud volcano feld and Ganquan Plateau,during an expedition in the South China Sea by the Chinese-manned submersible Shenhai Yongshi in May 2018.A total of 41 species belonging to 6 phyla were identifed,among which 34 species were collected from the Haima cold seeps.Mollusks and crustaceans that are specialized in reducing habitats were predominant in biotopes of the Haima cold seeps,whereas sponges and cold-water corals and their commensals were prominent in communities of the mud volcano feld and the slopes of Ganquan Plateau.The distribution and faunal composition of each taxonomic group are discussed.