Mitochondrial DNA variation in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea populations of swimming crab Ovalipes punctatus

Abstract

Swimming crab Ovalipes punctatus is a commercially important species in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea, but there is limited knowledge of its genetic population structure. The population genetic structure of O. punctatus in East China Sea and Yellow Sea was examined with a 658-bp segment of the mtDNA COI gene. A total of 60 individuals were collected from five locations and 48 haplotypes were obtained. Mean haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity for the five populations were 0.9876 ± 0.0068 and 0.0074 ± 0.0041, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) detected no significant differences at all hierarchical levels, and all F_ST values were non-significant, indicating that no significant population genetic structure exists in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea. These results supported the null hypothesis that O. punctatus within the East China Sea and Yellow Sea constitutes a panmictic mtDNA gene pool. Neutrality tests and mismatch distribution supported population expansion in this species, indicating that climate change could play an important role in affecting the demographic history of marine species. Strong dispersal capacity of larvae and adults, and ocean currents in the studied area could be the reasons for genetic homogeneity in this species in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea. Another explanation for the lack of phylogeographic structure in O. punctatus might reflect a recent range expansion after the last glacial maximum and insufficient time to attain migration-drift equilibrium.

• Dispersal capacity
• genetic structure
• mtDNA
• Ovalipes punctatus

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41006075 and 30970464), Special Fund for Marine Scientific Research in the Public Interest (201005013), Education Department of Zhejiang Province Outstanding Young Teachers Program, the Open Foundation from Ocean Fishery Science and Technology in the Most Important Subjects of Zhejiang (20100104, and grant from Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture (LSF2011-11).