Population genetic analysis and origin discrimination of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) using microsatellite markers

Abstract

Major habitats for the snow crab Chionoecetes opilio are mostly found within the northwest Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. However, the East Sea populations of C. opilio, along with its relative the red snow crab (C. japonicas), are two of the most important commercial crustacean species for fisheries on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. The East Sea populations of C. opilio are facing declining resources due to overfishing and global climate change. Thus, an analysis of population structure is necessary for future management. Five Korean and one Russian group of C. opilio were analyzed using nine microsatellite markers that were recently developed using next-generation sequencing. No linkage disequilibrium was found between any pair of loci, indicating that the markers were independent. The number of alleles per locus varied from 4 to 18 with a mean of 12, and allelic richness per locus ranged from 4.0 to 17.1 across all populations with a mean of 9.7. The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test revealed significant deviation in three out of nine loci in some populations after sequential Bonferroni correction and all of them had higher expected heterozygosity than observed heterozygosity. Null alleles were presumed in four loci, which explained the homozygosity in three loci. The pairwise fixation index (F ST ) values among the five Korean snow crab populations did not differ significantly, but all of the pairwise F ST values between each of the Korean snow crab populations and the Russian snow crab population differed significantly. An UPGMA dendrogram revealed clear separation of the Russian snow crab population from the Korean snow crab populations. Assignment tests based on the allele distribution discriminated between Korean and Russian origins with 93 % accuracy. Therefore, the snow crab populations around the Korean Peninsula need to be managed separately from the populations in Bering Sea in global scale resource management. Also, this information can be used for identification of snow crab origin which is problematic in worldwide crab trade.

Inter and intra‐population phenotypic and genotypic structuring in the European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus, a rare freshwater fish in Scotland

“…There is an increasing evidence of intraspecific structuring of both phenotype and genotype over multiple spatial scales for species from a broad range of taxonomic groups [Kang et al (2013) on crustaceans; Lozier et al (2013) on insects; Jorde et al (2007) and Fevolden et al (2012) on fishes; Piertney et al (1998) on birds and Swislocka et al (2013) on mammals].…”

Divergent functional traits in three sympatric Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus morphs are not coupled with the age of the lineage divergence

“…Kang et al, 2013;Swislocka et al, 2013). In some systems, it is clear that such structuring has arisen quickly and relatively recently (Gislason et al, 1999;Garduño-Paz et al, 2012).…”

Genetic Diversity and Conservation of an Endemic Taiwanese Species, Platyeriocheir formosa

“…Here we discriminate these three species using mt COI sequences. Because microsatellites have large mutation rates of 10 −5~1 −2 per generation [9][10], they are widely used as markers for studying genetics, population structure, kinship, and mating system [11][12][13][14]. In a previous study, the intraspecific genetic diversity of P. formosa was analyzed using COI sequences, with results showing insignificant genetic differences among samples from different streams [15].…”