Mitochondrial phylogenomics and genetic population structure of anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus) along the Moroccan coast using sequence analysis of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b

Abstract

A fragment of 680 bp of mitochondrial cytochrome b locus of European anchovies, Engraulis encrasicolus, was sequenced for 138 individuals collected from three Moroccan Atlantic areas and from Moroccan Alboran Sea. These samples were surveyed for diversity and differentiation with a range of summary statistics. The results showed that the most dominant clade in Moroccan anchovy is Clade A with a percentage ranging from 89% in Alboran Sea to 91% - 95 % in the Moroccan Atlantic coast. Overall, there was a significant genetic differentiation among the 4 Moroccan anchovy zones (Φst = 0.01283; p=0.03910). Pairwise Φst among populations and multidimensional scaling revealed a high homogeneity among Atlantic populations but some heterogeneity between Alboran population and Atlantic populations, mainly between the populations from Central Atlantic of Morocco with a significant difference.