Differentiation of the frog sculpin Myoxocephalus stelleri Tilesius, 1811 (Actinopterygii, Cottidae) based on mtDNA and karyotype analyses

By

Moreva, Irina
Radchenko, Olga
Petrovskaya, Anna

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021

Original Publication

Comparative cytogenetics : international journal of plant & animal cytogenetics, karyosystematics and molecular systematics

Volume

15

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

179--197

Subjects

16S rRNA , COI , cytochrome b , cytotype , Haplotype , Myoxocephalinae , Robertsonian polymorphism , Sea of Japan , Sea of Okhotsk

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

St. Petersburg, Russia [Published] with technical support of Zoological Institute RAS [2007]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/CompCytogen.v15.i2.63207

 

Abstract

A molecular genetic and karyological study of the frog sculpin Myoxocephalus stelleri Tilesius, 1811 was carried out on an extensive sample from a large area of the species’ range. A total of 42 specimens was sampled from the Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, and coastal waters off the southern Kuril Islands, which makes this sampling scheme the most comprehensive to date. The level of mtDNA polymorphism was found to be low. The haplotypes of the species formed three phylogenetic groups. The unique M. stelleri haplotype from the coast of Shikotan Island linked all the studied groups, indicating that it is likely ancestral. Robertsonian polymorphism was identified in the species. In all five cytotypes (I – 2n = 44, II – 2n = 43, III – 2n = 42, IV – 2n = 41, V – 2n = 40; NF = 44+2) were identified, all of which were present in the Sea of Japan. Only one (cytotype I) was found in the Sea of Okhotsk, which is probably the closest to the ancestral karyotype. The significant chromosomal polymorphism and the presence of common haplotypes in the studied samples indicate their recent origin from a common ancestor and/or relatively recent contacts within the range. The discrepancies between mtDNA and karyotypes in assigning the ancestral M. stelleri to the coastal waters off Shikotan Island (southern Kuril Islands) and the Sea of Okhotsk, respectively, can be explained by the different inheritance mechanisms and the rates of evolution of molecular genetic and karyological traits.