Vendace (Coregonus albula) and least cisco (Coregonus sardinella) are conspecific according to data of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA polymorphism
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1
Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
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2
Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
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3
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (RAS), Russia
The main criterion currently used for distinguishing vendace (Coregonus albula) and least cisco (C. sardinella) is their geographical distribution: it is believed that vendace lives in Europe and least cisco in Siberia. No morphological feature that would demonstrate a clear hiatus between these two species was found despite numerous studies of these species (Borovikova, Makhrov, 2009; Borovikova et al., 2013). Moreover, there are Siberian populations with morphological characteristics typical for C. albula (Skryabin, 1977; Romanov, 2000) while some waterbodies of the European part of Russia (Beloye and Vodlozero lakes, reservoirs of the Solovetsky Archipelago and the Pechora River basin) are inhabited by C. albula populations possessing transitional values of features considered species-specific by some authors (Borovikova et al., 2013).
Many morphological features of coregonids are very plastic and determined by environmental conditions. For example, the number of vertebrae depends on the temperature during embryogenesis (Eckmann, 1987; Lindsey, 1988). The proportions of fish’s body, including the position of fins, vary depending on the flow rate in the waterbody where fish live (Pakkasmaa, Piironen, 2001). This is important to take into account since vendace is mainly lacustrine, while the least cisco is mainly riverine semi-anadromous.
Thus, determination of genetic markers that would allow correct identification of C. albula and C. sardinella is an actual task. However, numerous studies of allozyme polymorphism did not reveal any clear differences in allele composition or their frequencies between these species (Vuorinen, 1988; Bodaly et al., 1991; Sendek, 2002 etc.). PCR-RFLP analysis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragment including the gene of the subunit I of the NADH-dehydrogenase complex (ND1 fragment) did not allow finding nucleotide substitutions that would unambiguously distinguish C. albula and C. sardinella. The same widespread composite haplotype was detected in both vendace as well as least cisco populations (Borovikova, 2009).
We analyzed the nucleotide sequence of two mtDNA regions: the nd1 gene (975 base pair) and the fragment of the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I gene (COI, 525 bp) in order to find markers allowing accurate identification of vendace and least cisco. The fragment of the nuclear gene RAG1 (recombination activating gene, 1093 bp) was analyzed also. A total of 224 fish DNA samples from 44 populations were examined.
Sequencing was used in combination with PCR-RFLP analysis. Several individuals for sequencing were taken from each sample in such a way that all composite haplotypes found by PCR-RFLP analysis for each sample were studied. Primers and reaction conditions according to (Lopez et al., 2004; Bochkarev et al., 2011; Borovikova et al., 2018) were used to synthesize the PCR products. Values of р-distance were calculated to evaluate genetic divergences of haplotypes and their groups.
According to the COI sequences, the C. albula and C. sardinella are not differentiated. The same COI haplotype is widespread in European as well as Siberian populations; interspecific distance is 0.4%. At the same time, intraspecific differentiation is 0.4% for vendace sequences, and 0.3% for least cisco. It should be noted, that differentiation of C. albula and C. sardinella from other coregonid species, C. autumnalis and C. lavaretus, fluctuates from 1.5 to 2.0%.
An analysis of the nd1 haplotypes network revealed three clearly distinguished clusters, S, E and ALBP2. The ciscoes from most of the Siberian waterbodies (the Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma, Indigirka, Yana rivers) possess cluster S haplotypes. At the same time, all individuals from Kureyka River (Yenisei River basin) possess cluster E haplotypes. The haplotypes of both S and E clusters were identified in the waterbodies of the Yamal Peninsula. Variants of cluster E dominated in the population of least cisco from Lake Sobach’e (Putorana Plateau).
The carriers of cluster E haplotype are numerous in European waterbodies. However, the cluster S haplotypes have been found in waterbodies of the Pechora River basin, in Lake Lekshmozero (western part of the White Sea basin), in the Rybinsk reservoir (Volga River basin). Genetic differentiation of S and E haplotype clusters is up to 1.1%.
The haplotypes of ALBP2 cluster found in Lake Pleshcheyevo have strongly diverged from the S and E clusters’ haplotypes. We consider this group as a separate mtDNA phylogenetic lineage (Borovikova, 2017). It is important that the representatives of this lineage coexist with carriers of cluster E haplotypes. The differentiation between the ALBP2 haplotypes and the variants of the E cluster is 2.8%, while p-distance between cluster E haplotypes and haplotypes of C. lavaretus is 3.5%. Nevertheless, the morphological differences between representatives of ALBP2 and E lineages are slight, and the various ranges of their morphological features are located within limits typical for C. albula (Borovikova, Artamonova, 2018). Thus, the results of primary sequences of the nd1 gene analysis showed that neither the C. albula nor the C. sardinella was an independent monophyletic species.
Analysis of RAG1 gene fragment polymorphism revealed only one site, the nucleotide substitutions in which can be called conditionally specific for vendace and least cisco. At the same time, we found a variant from Lake Pleshcheyevo (lineage E) with the replacement in this position of "European" cytosine (C) by "Siberian" adenine (A) among vendace sequences. One individual from Lake Goreloye (Solovetsky Archipelago) turned out to be a heterozygote carrying both Siberian and European alleles.
Thus, the data obtained in this study convincingly prove that C. albula and C. sardinella are conspecific, and C. sardinella should be considered a regional (Siberian) form of a single Eurasian species C. albula, or a subspecies C. albula sardinella.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to our colleagues for their invaluable help in sample collecting. The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant no. 16-14-10001.
References
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Keywords:
Coregonus albula,
Coregonus sardinella,
conspecific,
Molecular-genetic markers,
morphology
Conference:
XVI European Congress of Ichthyology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2 Sep - 6 Sep, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Oral
Topic:
TAXONOMY, PHYLOGENY AND ZOOGEOGRAPHY
Citation:
Borovikova
EA and
Artamonova
VS
(2019). Vendace (Coregonus albula) and least cisco (Coregonus sardinella) are conspecific according to data of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA polymorphism.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XVI European Congress of Ichthyology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.07.00101
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Received:
28 May 2019;
Published Online:
14 Aug 2019.
*
Correspondence:
PhD. Elena A Borovikova, Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Russia, elena.ibiw@gmail.com