Current Genetic Diversity in the Red Sea and Related Aquatic Environments.

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Background

One of the most peculiar hot spots for marine species in the world, the Red Sea exhibits a high level of aquatic species endemism. It is the sole habitat for 5.8 % of the world’s endemic scleractinian corals; 12.6 % of the world’s endemic polychaetes, 8.1 % of the world’s echinoderms, 16.5 % of the world’s endemic ascidians, and 11 % of the world’s endemic reef fishes. Also, 33 % of recorded crustaceans in the Red Sea are known to be endemic there. These high endemism levels exceed those at the related, nearby areas of the Northeastern Indian Ocean, as the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. The endemic fauna of the Red Sea is similar to that of the Western Gulf of Aden but different from the Eastern Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Gulf. However, the Red Sea is subjected to massive anthropogenic activities of economic and touristic natures. These activities led to the sequence of events of ¨evil-quartet¨; i.e., over-harvesting, destruction of habitats, the introduction of species, and co-extinction. Also, owing to the threat of global warming, the strict balance between the sensitive coral systems and their symbiotic microbiomes has been disturbed several times in the last decades, leading to repeated coral bleaching events. Similar anthropogenic and nature-perturbations-related events have been noted in the nearby environments, including the Gulf of Aden, the Sea of Oman, and the Arabian Gulf.


The main aim of this Research Topic is to use a variety of modern genetic markers and techniques to infer the current status of marine biodiversity in the Red Sea and its related marine areas. These neighboring areas include the Gulf of Aden, the Sea of Oman, the Arabian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean. Such a set of data is of major environmental and official importance, as these environments are suffering increasing rates of human commercial activities, eutrophication, parasites´ spread, invasive species appearance, and habitat shifts and destruction. Special attention will be given to the most up-to-date analyses of targeted objectives, especially molecular genetic and metagenomic tools.

The scope of this special issue includes the following points:
- Metagenomic Characterization of marine habitats.
- Metagenomic investigations of hot spots for biological invasions (such as ports, canals, and stretches).
- Molecular analyses seafood markets in the target areas for detection of food-borne pathogens, illegal additives, and fisheries-threatening exploitations.
- Metagenomics of oceanic dead zones and their expansion as a result of amplification of biological nitrogen and greenhouse gases production.
- Metagenomic alteration in response to impacts of nearshore eutrophication on food webs, primary production, and oceanic de-oxygenation.
- Metagenomic analyses for mangrove forests and their microbial associations.
- Metagenomics of marine macroalgae and their epiphytic communities.
- Molecular investigation for capabilities of marine organisms´ bioactive ingredients and symbiotic microbiomes as potential therapeutics to current health hazards.
- Molecular aspects of the population ecology of marine mammals.
- Development of metagenomic pipelines and platforms for analyses of the targeted organisms and environments as mentioned in the aforementioned scope points.

Keywords: Biodiversity, DNA, eDNA, Ecology, Ecogenetics, Genetic Diversity, Metagenomics, Populations, Red Sea

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