Evaluation of Molecular and Phenotypic Markers for Phylogeographic Analysis of the Black-Sea Turbot Scophthalmus maeoticus (Pallas, 1814) (Actinopterygii: Scophthalmidae)

Abstract

Molecular genetics and phenotypic markers were evaluated for detecting phylogeographic difference in the populations of the Black-Sea turbot Scophthalmus maeoticus occurring in the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea. Microsatellites of nuclear DNA and the COIII region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were used for the genetic analyses. Morphometrics, meristics, otolith shape and otolith chemistry were applied for the phenotypic analyses. The mean number of alleles was 14.4, using five polymorphic microsatellite loci; the lowest genetic distance (0.19549) was observed between the Marmara (MS) and the West Black Sea (BS2) populations; the highest genetic distance (0.21755) was observed between the Marmara Sea population and East Black Sea (BS1) population. MIDNA analysis revealed an overall genetic diversity of 0.00148. The smallest (0.001416) genetic distance was observed between BS2 and BS1 and the highest (0.001593) was the genetic distance between BSI and MS populations. Discriminant function analysis of morphometric and meristic characters discriminated only BS1 population from the other populations, which overlapped with one another. The otolith shape analysis also supported the morphometric and meristic analyses that the BS1 population was differentiated from the other two populations.