Molecular comparison of geographically extreme populations of fish species of wide Indo-Pacific distribution

Abstract

A total of six Red Sea inshore fish species with wide Indo-Pacific distribution, including Lessepsian migrants that reached the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, were studied and compared genetically to conspecific populations from Japan and the Seychelles. Examination of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) gene of Apogon cyanosoma, Sargocentron rubrum, Upeneus moluccensis, Spratelloide sdelicatulus, Gerres oyena and Terapon jarbua from Japan, the Red Sea, the Seychelles and the Mediterranean revealed that in five out of six fish species, a difference greater than 4% was found. These results indicate the importance of DNA genetic analysis in revealing possible cryptic species and supplementing classic taxonomic studies, as well as contributing to a reappraisal of the zoogeography and evolution of Indo-Pacific ichthyofauna and enhancing our understanding of fish biodiversity.

Keywords:

• Mitochondrial DNA
• DNA barcoding
• COI sequencing
• cryptic species
• Indo-Pacific zoogeography
• Red Sea fishes

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Y. Iwatsuki, University of Miyazaki, Japan and S. Kimura, Mie, University, Japan for assisting in collecting the fish specimens from Japan.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yaron Tikochinski

Dr. Yaron Tikochinski is a senior lecturer and a researcher at the Marine Sciences School. His research topics include population genetics and diversity, migration of species to the Mediterranean Sea, the influence of marine agriculture on natural populations, biological filtration by marine suspension feeders, and Corral symbiosis with zooxanthellae. He is the co-founder and CSO of several biotech companies like IntelliGene, Genetico and Sparklyx.

Marina Friling

Marina Friling, Nave Harush, Roy Lizarovich, Nitzan Manor and Avishai Horsky are graduates of the Marine Sciences School.

Roy Lizarovich

Marina Friling, Nave Harush, Roy Lizarovich, Nitzan Manor and Avishai Horsky are graduates of the Marine Sciences School.

Nitzan Manor

Marina Friling, Nave Harush, Roy Lizarovich, Nitzan Manor and Avishai Horsky are graduates of the Marine Sciences School.

Avishai Horsky

Marina Friling, Nave Harush, Roy Lizarovich, Nitzan Manor and Avishai Horsky are graduates of the Marine Sciences School.

Brenda Appelbaum-Golani

Brenda Appelbaum-Golani is an information scientist and librarian at the Mount Scopus Library of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has studied Ecology and Zoology and has coauthored articles emphasizing the ethical and philosophical aspects of biodiversity.

Daniel Golani

Dr. Daniel Golani is an ichthyologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research includes zoogeography, taxonomy and biology of fish in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. In the last few decades, his research has emphasized the impact of Lessepsian (Red Sea) migration of fishes to the Mediterranean Sea.