No habitat correlation of zooxanthellae in the coral genus Madracis on a Curaçao reef

Symbiodinium was originally thought to be a monotypic genus, but biochemical, physiological, morphological and behavioral studies quickly revealed that Symbiodinium is highly diverse Molecular genetic studies over the past decade have revealed distinct strains or types of S. microadriaticum Using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the small subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene from several cultivated and freshly isolated zooxanthellae from a wide variety of hosts, Rowan & Powers (1991) identified 3 major phylogenetic groups within Symbiodinium, designated as Type A, B and C. Several subsequent surveys of Symbiodinium diversity in > 50 coral species