Mitochondrial genotyping of an endangered bitterling Acheilognathus typus (Cyprinidae)

Abstract

Genotyping of endangered species is helpful for establishing and evaluating conservation strategies. Mitochondrial sequence data was analyzed from 541 individuals of a critically endangered fish, Acheilognathus typus from present-day range-wide localities to re-evaluate an in-progress restoration program around Lake Izunuma-Uchinuma, Miyagi, Japan. Acheilognathus typus showed low sequence diversity with only eight haplotypes and π and ĥ values of 0.59129 and 0.00118 respectively. Genetic data suggests A. typus is adapted to pulsed environments and prone to population flush and crash. Genotyping of populations in introduced localities revealed that their source is not from nearby localities.