Differentiation of coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) based on an analysis of morphology and complete mitochondrial DNA: Are cryptic species present?

Two morphotypes of Plectropomus leopardus have been identified; morphometric and meristic analyses show that there is no diagnostic difference between them. A difference in color pattern was the most appropriate phenotypic character with which to distinguish between the two morphotypes. Complete mitochondrial DNA sequencing, however, indicated a clear difference between the two morphotypes. Barcoding analysis revealed no significant difference (P>0.05) in CO1 or ND2 divergence among intramorphotypic individuals, even between geographically separated populations, whereas the intermorphotypic CO1 and ND2 divergences were large enough (averaging 0.95% for CO1 and 1.37% for ND2) to clearly discriminate between the two morphotypes. The color pattern difference, geographical distribution, together with the mtDNA and barcode sequencing data, suggest that the two morphotypes should be of two subspecies or even two species.     

中华哲水蚤(Calanus sinicus)个体核酸含量及其对生长状况的指示作用

采用荧光染色法对黄、东海春、秋季中华哲水蚤(Calanus sinicus)个体核酸含量进行了研究,初步探讨了RNA∶DNA比对中华哲水蚤生长状况的指示作用。结果表明,中华哲水蚤在饥饿培养24h后RNA∶DNA比值显著降低;雄性个体RNA含量和RNA∶DNA比值显著低于雌体和C5期幼体;春、秋季(2009年5月和2010年11月)个体RNA含量和RNA∶DNA比值存在显著的空间变化,两者最高值均出现在近岸;两个月份DNA含量相对稳定,在2.5—3.5μg/ind之间;个体RNA含量和RNA:DNA比值与叶绿素之间显著正相关,说明饵料是中华哲水蚤的生长过程中重要的影响因素。     

Relationships between molecular bacterial diversity and chemistry of groundwater in the Wairarapa Valley,New Zealand

Groundwater plays an important role in New Zealand water supplies and hence monitoring activities are conducted regularly. Most monitoring programmes aim to evaluate groundwater chemistry and almost completely overlook the microbial component in this ecosystem. In our present study, the bacterial community structure of groundwater in the Wairarapa Valley was examined using the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), and relationships between bacterial community structure and groundwater chemistry, aquifer confinement and groundwater usage were explored. In addition, the results from this study were compared with a previous T-RFLP survey of the same area in an attempt to detect changes in bacterial community structure over time. The data obtained suggested that bacterial community structure was related to groundwater chemistry, especially to redox conditions. Species composition showed minimal variation over time if groundwater chemistry remained unchanged. These findings reflect the potential of using bacterial communities as biological indicators to evaluate the health of groundwater ecosystems. We suggest that it is important to include this type of broad bacterial diversity assessment criteria into regular groundwater monitoring activities.     

Evidence of the restricted gene flow within a small spatial scale in the Japanese common intertidal goby Chaenogobius annularis

Elucidating the scale of gene flow among populations is an important challenge for understanding the ecological dynamics and local adaptation of marine organisms. We assessed whether gene flow is restricted even at a small spatial scale in the Japanese common intertidal goby Chaenogobius annularis, using highly polymorphic DNA markers, involving the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region and 15 microsatellite DNA (msDNA), because past ecological studies have suggested low dispersal ability for rocky intertidal fishes. We found significant heterogeneities between four neighboring local populations by both mtDNA and msDNA analyses. In addition, no genetic heterogeneity was detected by either method across generations within a population; it was considered that such genetic differentiation is retained across generations and that the gene flow of this species is restricted to within a radius of a few kilometers. This is the first report showing a clear genetic subdivision in rocky intertidal fish.     

Genetic variability of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus in the Western Mediterranean Sea inferred by DNA microsatellite loci

Genetic variation at eight microsatellite loci was studied in nine populations of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus to investigate whether distinct stocks are present in the Western Mediterranean Sea. A high level of gene flow and no evidence of genetic partitioning were discovered. No significant variation was found (F_ST = 0.00673, P-value = 0.067) even when shrimps from exploited and those from deep-water unexploited grounds were compared. No evidence of reduction or expansion of population size in the recent past was found, as indicated by the bottleneck and interlocus g-tests. Our results are consistent with previous studies using mitochondrial gene methods and allozymes, indicating that, for this species, extensive pelagic larval dispersal and adult migration are probably responsible for the genetic homogeneity observed. In particular, due to a different bathymetric distribution of males and females, reported to be associated with different water masses and hence with possible differential dispersal capacity between sexes, the hypothesis of sex-biased dispersal was tested. Mean values of corrected assignment indices and mean relatedness values were higher for males, suggesting that females are the more widely dispersing sex. Molecular assessment of A. antennatus from the Western Mediterranean provides data of biological and evolutionary interest for the successful management of such a highly valuable fishery resource.     

波纹唇鱼mtDNA D-loop 序列变异分析

为研究波纹唇鱼(Cheilinus undulatus)线粒体D-loop 序列遗传多样性, 作者采用聚合酶链式反应和克隆技术对海波纹唇鱼群体(n=25)的mtDNA D-loop 序列进行克隆和测序, 获得长度大约为1 400 bp的产物。用ClustalX 软件进行排序比较, 将结果导入MEGA5.0, 结果显示出在这25 尾个体中, 共检测出66 个变异位点, 包括0 个碱基缺失, 4 个碱基插入, 59 转换位点, 2 颠换位点及1 个转换和颠换同时存在的位点。并用MEGA5.0 软件构建该群25 尾个体的NJ 和UPGMA 系统树。由DNASP 软件计算出该波纹唇鱼群体的多态位点数(S)为62, 核苷酸多样性(P_i)为0.00606, 平均核苷酸差异数为6.907。结果表明波纹唇鱼群体的mtDNA-loop 基因个体差异程度不明显。     

尼罗罗非鱼Oreochromis niloticus、奥利亚罗非鱼O.aureus和红罗非鱼O.sp.群体遗传多样性的比较

用9对微卫星引物对尼罗罗非鱼Oreochromis niloticus、奥利亚罗非鱼O.aureus和红罗非鱼O.sp.群体的遗传变异进行了比较研究。在3个群体109个个体中共检测到60个等位基因,3个群体的平均等位基因数分别为4.11、1.33和3.44,平均观测杂合度分别为0.528、0.056和0.491,平均期望杂合度分别为0.644、0.091和0.526,平均多态信息含量分别为0.580、0.077和0.466。杂合子偏离度D值分别为0.148、0.222和0.044,表明3个罗非鱼群体存在不同程度的杂合子缺失。卡方检验表明3个群体的大部分位点偏离Hardy-Weinberg平衡,存在遗传漂变现象。群体间遗传分化显著(遗传分化指数FST在0.329到0.656之间,P<0.01)。尼罗罗非鱼和红罗非鱼群体间的遗传距离最小(0.47)。上述分析表明,尼罗罗非鱼的遗传多样性最高,奥利亚罗非鱼的遗传多样性最低,群体间分化显著。表明尼罗罗非鱼和红罗非鱼尚具有一定的选育潜力,而奥利亚罗非鱼遗传多样性低,不利于选择育种,需要引进新的种群。     

5个湖泊河川沙塘鳢(Odontobutis potamophila)种群线粒体细胞色素b基因的遗传变异分析

通过对5个湖泊的河川沙塘鳢种群的线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因进行PCR扩增、测序,获得1141 bp的序列全长.序列分析显示,cyt b基因序列中A+T含量(55.8%)略高于G+C含量(44.2%),共检测到806个多态位点,115个样本得到87个单倍型,平均单倍型多样性为0.969±0.012,核苷酸多样性为0.20081±0.00742,遗传多样性表现高度多样性.太湖种群与大纵湖种群间的遗传距离最近,为0.137,巢湖种群和大纵湖种群之间遗传距离最远,为0.424.分子方差分析表明,群体间遗传分化系数Fst为0.531,变异来自群体内及群体间.cyt b基因序列构建的UPGMA系统进化树显示,5个种群分化成不同的分支系谱,种群间存在的基因交流较少.