Mitochondrial DNA reveals cryptic oligochaete species differing in cadmium resistance

Species of the family Tubificidae represent a major faunal element in benthic freshwater communities throughout the world. Some of them are considered particularly tolerant of the influence of toxicants such as cadmium. One of the most abundant species, "Tubifex tubifex," is frequently used as an indicator of environmental pollution, despite considerable taxonomic problems caused by phenotypic plasticity and genetic heterogeneity. Our study provides a phylogeny of "T. tubifex" based on a segment of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA and presents a rapid PCR-based method of genotype screening which was then applied in cadmium toxicity studies on natural populations. Phylogenetic analysis identified five major mitochondrial lineages, some of them separated by large genetic distances (up to 13%) but morphologically indistinguishable, thus highly suggestive of the existence of cryptic species. All lineages were present at different frequencies in the European river populations studied, with a tendency of the more resistant lineages to occur at higher frequencies in the more tolerant populations. In fact, lineage-specific toxicity experiments showed that individuals of different mitochondrial lineages consistently varied in cadmium resistance, suggesting that in benthic oligochaetes, evolution seems to proceed predominantly through natural selection acting on physiological, rather than morphological, characters. In consequence, toxicological studies involving "T. tubifex" as a monitoring or test organism should allow for the possibility of genetic inhomogeneity of this mudworm group by combining both toxicological and genetic methods.