Abstract:Partial sequences of COⅠ genes from 8 species of Scleractinian in Xuwen area,Guangdong Province, were amplified and sequenced, and the base ratio and variations were analyzed . The result indicated that the average G+C content of this region accounted for 41.60%，while the codon position 1 was the highest, in the range of 42.26%~44.05%(43.45% in average). The proportion of transition and transversion was 70.30% and 72.70% respectively in codon position 3. The phylogenetic trees were also constructed based on COⅠ genes of these 8 samples and other 20 Scleractinian species recorded in GenBank. According to the Neighbour-joining, minimum-evolution and maximum-likelihood trees, molecular systematics was slightly different from the morphological conclusion, which suggested that morphological classification may be limited by coral skeletons plasticity. Consequently, the COⅠgene is one of the auxiliary tools to classify the phylogeny of Scleractinia.
