Origin of the Global Invasive Mosquito fish (Gambusia holbrooki) in Türkiye and Determination of Intrapopulation Genetic Relationships
Project no. 23125 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2021
Summary
<p>In the project, the genetic relationships between the populations in Turkey and the possible global origin of the mosquito fish (<em>Gambusia holbrooki</em>), which is among the 100 most invasive species in the world, were deeply investigated. For this aim, sequence analyses of two different target genes (cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase c subunit I) were performed to determine genetic differences in <em>Gambusia holbrooki</em> individuals selected from populations of different localities in different river basins in Turkey, and genetic relationships between <em>G. holbrooki</em> populations were investigated.</p><p>The haplotypes of successful sequences in both the cytochrome-b (Cyt-b) and cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene regions used and the genetic differences between sampling locations in our country were examined. Geographical differences, distribution characteristics, and polymorphism changes among the local populations of the mosquito fish species distributed in different basins were evaluated. Additionally, in order to determine the origins of the mosquito fish, haplotypes from different continents and regions of the world reported in the genbank for each gene region were evaluated in terms of phylogenetics and polymorphism. Average intra-species genetic distance values were used for the validation of the genetic relationship of mosquito fish haplotypes.</p><p>The analysis results reveal that the Cyt-b gene region causes more distinct differences in determining the genetic relationships of mosquito fish than the COI gene region. The haplotypes collected from the Aegean and Southeastern regions of the Black Sea region were in a closer genetic relationship, while haplotypes distributed in the Mediterranean region were found to be in a more distant genetic relationship. The results of the origin and distribution tests revealed a very close relationship between the haplotypes reported from Turkey and Croatia. A genetically closer relationship was found between the haplotypes tested within the scope of the study and the haplotypes obtained from Austria.</p><p>These data revealed that the mosquito fish originated in Austria and spread to Croatia. This study provided important results for the distribution and origin studies of mosquito fish in Turkiye.</p>