Phylogenetic relationships of Mediterranean Mullidae species (Perciformes) inferred from genetic and morphologic data

Abstract

SUMMARY: Genetic and morphological divergence and phylogenetic relationships of four species Mullus barbatus, Mullus surmuletus, Upeneus moluccensis, Upeneus pori and one subspecies M.b. ponticus of Mullus were investigated using 12 enzymatic systems, corresponding to 17 putative loci. Eight loci (AAT-1*, AAT-2*, ADH*, GAPDH*, G6PDH*, IDHP*, PGI-2*, SOD*) were found to be polymorphic in at least one species, while the remaining nine (mAAT*, CK-1*, CK-2*, G3PDH*, MDH*, ME-1*, ME-2*, PGI-1*, PGM*) were monomorphic in all species. Several loci showed different electrophoretic patterns among species and thus can be used in species taxonomy as diagnostic markers. The PGM* and SOD* loci proved to be especially species-specific. Fisher's exact test revealed overall highly significant allele frequency differences between M. barbatus and M. b. ponticus (P<0.001). Pairwise comparisons of genetic distance were found to be 0.034 between M. barbatus and M. b. ponticus, and 0.341 between M. barbatus and M. surmuletus within the genus Mullus. Relatively higher genetic differentiation (D=0.628) was observed between U. moluccensis and U. pori. For intergeneric comparisons, the highest genetic distance (1.250) was detected between M. surmuletus and U. pori, and the lowest (D=1.056) was observed between M. surmuletus and U. moluccensis. Remarkably U. pori was genetically the most distinct species from the genus Mullus. A neighbour-joining analysis of genetic data separated the two genera: M. barbatus and M. b. ponticus clustered as the closest taxonomic assemblage, which was a sister group to M. surmuletus in the first branch, while U. moluccensis and U. pori clustered more divergently in the second branch. Morphological data using meristic characters was congruent with the genetic data and revealed similar patterns of relationships among four Mullidae species.Keywords: Mullidae, genetic, morphology, phylogeny. RESUMEN: RELACIONES FILOGENÉTICAS DE LAS ESPECIES DE MULLIDAE (PERCIFORMES) DEL MEDITERRÁNEO INFERIDAS A PAR-TIR DE DATOS GENÉTICOS Y MORFOLÓGICOS. -Se investigaron las divergencias genéticas y morfológicas y las relaciones filogenéticas de cuatro especies Mullus barbatus, Mullus surmuletus, Upeneus moluccensis, Upeneus pori y una subespecie M.b. ponticus, usando 12 sistemas enzymáticos, correspondientes a 17 loci putativos. Se encontró que 8 loci (AAT-1*, AAT-2*, ADH*, GAPDH*, G6PDH*, IDHP*, PGI-2*, SOD*) eran polimórficos, en al menos una especie, mientras que los 9 restantes (mAAT*, CK-1*, CK-2*, G3PDH*, MDH*, ME-1*, ME-2*, PGI-1*, PGM*) eran monomórficos en todas las especies. Varios loci mostraron diferentes patrones electroforéticos entre especies y por tanto pueden utilizarse como marcadores diagnóstico en taxonomía específica. Los loci PGM* y SOD* fueron especie-específicos. El "Fisher's exact test" reveló diferencias altamente significativas totales de la frecuencia de alelos entre M. barbatus and M. b. ponticus (P<0.001). La comparación de distancia genética por parejas fue de 0.034 entre M. barbatus y M. b. ponti...

Molecular systematics of the Capoeta (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) species complex inferred from mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequence data

“…On the other hand, the observed phenotypic differences in morphology between these putative taxons may reflect environmentally induced phenotypic variation. In general, fishes demonstrate greater variance in morphological traits both within and between species than other vertebrates, and are more susceptible to environmentallyinduced morphological variation (DUNHAM et al 1979;ALLENDORF 1988;THOMPSON 1991;WIMBERGER 1992;TURAN 2006), which might reflect different feeding environment, prey types, food availability, temperature or other features. On the other hand, there is increasing evidence that differentiation at the nuclear DNA level may not be seen in mitochondrial genes (FERGUSON et al 1991;WARD & GREWE 1994;TURAN et al 1998), although there remain many cases to the converse (WARD et al 1989;REEB & AVISE 1990;HANSEN & LOESCHCKE 1996).…”

Untitled

“…Mullus barbatus and M. surmuletus are distributed in the Mediterranean Sea, the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea. Mullus barbatus ponticus Essipov, 1927 is taxonomically classified as a subspecies of Mullus barbatus in the Black Sea (Hureau, 1986;Sahin & Akbulut, 1997;Turan, 2006). Since the red mullet is both economically valuable and an export product of Turkish fisheries, it is among the important demersal fish of the Black Sea.…”

Threatened brill species in marine waters of Turkey: Scopthalmus rhombus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Scopthalmidae)

“…Moreover, a detailed knowledge on current population status is needed, and conservation measures for the protection of the local population are strongly suggested. Genetic analysis should also be conducted to determine its genetic structure as defined for other marine species (Turan, 2006;Turan, 2008). This species should be protected along the Turkish Black Sea and Marmara Sea.…”