Mitochondrial genetic diversity and population structure of the amur sleeper (perccottus glenii) in Northeast China

Abstract

Amur sleeper (Perccottus glenii), is a remarkable invasive species in Euroasia, is natively distributed in Northeast Asia and has been recognized as a candidate for aquaculture in northeast China. To investigate the genetic variability and population structure of this species in its native range, we analysed variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cyt b) for 94 specimens collected from five locations. Sequence analysis showed that there were 50 polymorphic sites and 20 haplotypes among five populations, and the samples exhibited high haplotype diversity (h=0.8467) and low nucleotide diversity (Pi=0.0063). Genetic distances ranged from 0.0002 to 0.0149 within and 0.0007 to 0.0140 between populations. AMOVA analysis indicated significant genetic differentiation among populations (Fst=0.3202, P<0.01) and 68.98% of the total variation was resulted from intra-population differentiation. Pairwise Fst statistics also confirmed the presence of significant differentiation between populations, although no significant differentiation between Panjin and Tieling populations was detected (P>0.05). Moreover, 20 haplotypes identified from the five populations did not cluster into separate geographic branches based on the results of phylogenetic analyses. The neutrality and mismatch distribution tests suggested the species as a whole and all but Tieling population did not undergo a recent population expansion. The results obtained here suggested that Fuyuan, Baoqing and Neimeng populations should be protected and managed separately, and Panjin and Tieling populations should be considered as a genetic management unit.