Mitochondrial genetic diversity and gene flow of common carp from main river drainages in China

Abstract

Summary 1. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) is one of the most widely distributed and important freshwater fishes in the world. In China, the common carp has been recognised as three subspecies: C. carpio haematopterus, C. carpio rubrofuscus and C. carpio carpio. The Nanling Mountains have been suggested as providing the dividing line between C. carpio haematopterus and C. carpio rubrofuscus. However, the demographic history and gene flow of the common carp in China is not clear. 2. We collected mitochondrial COII and D‐loop sequences (1494 bp) from 241 individuals distributed in eight major river drainages across China. The objective was to provide the first investigation into population genetic structure, demographic history and migration patterns of the common carp from these river drainages, and to assess the validity of the three subspecies. 3. Phylogenetic analysis did not result in three major monophyletic lineages corresponding to the three subspecies. The Nanling Mountains do not form a border separating C. carpio haematopterus and C. carpio rubrofuscus. amova showed low population differentiation, with 11.60% of the molecular variance found among river drainages. Pairwise FST values between river drainages were moderate (0.0331–0.2617). Substantial gene flow detected in coalescent analysis between drainages showed that the Yangtze drainage was the centre from which migrants moved northward, southward and north‐westward. Human‐mediated translocation has confounded our ability to identify subspecies of common carp in China.

The common carp, Cyprinus carpio, in the Mediterranean region: origin, distribution, economic benefits, impacts and management

“…2a). Also, recent studies have indicated that human-mediated translocation of carp across Chinese drainage basins has likely resulted in high levels of gene flow preventing clear identification of the three postulated sub-species C. c. carpio, C. c. haematopterus and C. c. rubrofuscus (an endemic cultured sub-species from that area (Wang et al 2010). Finally, reference to domesticated varieties as C. c. domestica as well as e.g.…”

Patterns of Geographical and Potential Adaptive Divergence in the Genome of the Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

“…Genetic evidence indicates that all common carp populations originate from two ancestral forms of wild carp, the European subspecies ( C. c. carpio ) and the East Asian subspecies ( C. c. haematopterus ) (Chistiakov and Voronova, 2009). The validity of a third subspecies, C. c. rubrofuscus , is questionable; it may have diverged from C. c. haematopterus (Zhou et al, 2004; Wang et al, 2010; Kohlmann and Kersten, 2013).…”

“…These factors combined with accumulation of mutations and long-term geographical isolation have produced many varieties of common carp with distinct skin color, body shape, scale pattern, body size, and stress tolerance. Human transport of carp to different geographical locations has generated high levels of gene flow (Wang et al, 2010). Hybrid breeding of carp in China has been common over the last 50 years and has resulted in many varieties or strains, such as Jian carp (JIAN).…”

Genetic sources and diversity of the paddy field carp in the Pearl River basin inferred from two mitochondrial loci

“…Notably, the 1,200-year-old rice-fish system of Qintian county, Zhejiang Province, was listed as one of the "Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)" by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2005 1 (Xie et al, 2011). PF-carp farming in the GIAHS rice-fish system named Oujiang carp has been practiced and passed down for generations (Wang, 1997). Within the Qintian GIAHS site, rice-fish farmer households exchange fry and parental carp for their own rice-fish production, thereby contributing to a high rate of gene flow and high genetic diversity of PF-carp (Ren et al, 2018).…”