Genetic Diversity of the Critically Endangered Lake Minnow Eupallasella percnurus in Poland and Its Implications for Conservation

Abstract

The lake minnow (Eupallasella percnurus) is critically endangered. In this paper we characterize the genetic properties of this fish over its range of occurrence in Poland and propose the use of this knowledge in its active protection. Twelve populations of lake minnow from across its range in Poland were investigated. 13 microsatellite loci were investigated to evaluate genetic variation and distance among populations. The magnitude of the genetic bottleneck or founder effects was investigated. In the studied populations, the allelic diversity and heterozygosity showed that genetic variation in this species is low. At most loci, only 2–3 alleles per population were detected. The average number of alleles detected across all loci was 35, and ranged from 24 to 53. The average observed heterozygosity (Ho) across all investigated loci was 0.38 (range 0.21–0.59); the average expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.36 (range 0.18–0.55). The populations remained in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The average Garza-Williamson M index value for all populations was low (0.47), suggesting a reduction in genetic variation due to a founder effect or a genetic bottleneck. Genetic distance among populations was high or very high (FST range: 0.20–0.64; δμ2 range: 1.32–16.98); this was likely a consequence of low gene flow among isolated populations, a founder effect or other genetic bottleneck, and strong genetic drift. The large genetic differences among the investigated lake minnow populations are likely to also exist among other populations of this species, and knowledge of these differences should inform active protection programs based on translocation of wild or cultivated fish of this species. The method presented here can potentially be applied to any population of lake minnows or closely related species.

Genassemblage 2.0 software facilitates conservation of genetic variation of captively propagated species

“…It can be used to identify the best breeding set for either individual or group breeding. This is merely an example of how the software works (although the number of markers should be high enough to track genetic differences both within and between lake minnow populations 16 , 22 ). If any molecular marker is polymorphic and inherited according to Mendelian laws, and numbers can be assigned its their alleles, then it can be used.…”

“…Fin clips were taken, and DNA was extracted from all fin samples using a Genomic Mini AX Tissue SPIN DNA Extraction and Purification Kit (A&A Biotechnology, Poland). The extraction procedure was performed following the manufacturer’s recommendations 16 . The integrity of the DNA samples was visually inspected after their electrophoresis in a 1.5% agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide, and DNA yields were quantified by spectrophotometric analysis 15 .…”

“…Loci Ca3 , Ca4 and Ca12 17 , Z9878 , Z10362 and Z13419 18 (primer sequences were taken from GeneBank https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ); and Eupe1 , Eupe2 , Eupe4 , Eupe5 , Eupe6 , Eupe7 and Eupe9 were amplified using primer sequences described by Kaczmarczyk and Gadomski 19 and deposited in GeneBank ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ). The primer sequences, repeat motifs, their accession numbers and details of PCR amplification were given by Kaczmarczyk and Wolnicki 16 . The forward primer of each primer pair was 5′-end labeled with fluorescent dyes (6FAM, VIC, NED, PET).…”

Extinction risk to lake minnow (Eupallasella percnurus) due to habitat loss: Eastern Poland case study

“…Sikorska and Wolnicki (2011) indicated only one site in the Wielkopolskie voivodeship, and Wolnicki et al (2011c) found two sites in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship classified as critically threatened. Generally, at least 75% of habitats of lake minnow are currently in danger of being destroyed (Kaczmarczyk and Wolnicki 2016). In the light of the results, it should be emphasized that the loss of lake minnow habitats is part of a more complex process, which is the loss of the wetland habitats and the resulting decrease in population of most aquatic species.…”

“…The global population of lake minnow displays a wide range of morphological variation, which resulted in five distinguished subspecies (Kusznierz et al 2017). Across Poland, however, genetic variation in this species is quite low (Kaczmarczyk and Wolnicki 2016).…”