Genetic species identification and population structure of grouper Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1822) collected from fish markets along the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea

PeerJ

article

Parviz Tavakoli-Kolour¹  Ahmad Farhadi²  Ashkan Ajdari³  Dara Bagheri⁴  Sanaz Hazraty-Kari¹  Ahmad Ghasemi⁵  Arya Vazirzadeh² 

[1] Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus;Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University;Offshore Fisheries Research Center, Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute;Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Nano and Bio Science and Technology, Persian Gulf University;Department of Fisheries and Biology, Persian Gulf Research Institute, Persian Gulf University

关键词: Epinephelus coioides;    Misidentification;    D-loop;    Genetic structure;    Persian Gulf;    Oman Sea;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14179

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Many ecologically important and valuable fisheries marine species have been misidentified in terms of both the statistical data and market demand. Correct identification at the species level and the population genetic structure of the orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides), a precious fish in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, was tested using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (DNA barcoding) and D-loop sequencing. The results revealed that the Epinephelus species found in the region, including E. coioides, E. bleekeri, E. polylepis, and E. chlorostigma were all mistakenly grouped together and identified as only E. coioides. Moreover, the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) of E. coioides samples using the D-loop showed a significantly unique genetic structure (ΦST = 0.068, p < 0.001) within the E. coioides population throughout the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, with the pairwise genetic difference between sampling locations in UAE and the Iranian coast. Moreover, D-loop sequences analysis showed two distinct haplotype groups scattered among the sampling locations, which did not correlate with the geographic distance between the sampling locations. These findings indicate that the issue of misidentification should be highlighted in the management and conservation of E. coioides. As this type of misidentification is likely to happen to other threatened marine species as well, the efficacy of using genetic markers for the correct identification, both at the species and the population level, is vital.

【 授权许可】

CC BY