Site heteroplasmy in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of the sterlet sturgeon Acipenser ruthenus.

Sturgeons are fish species with a complex biology. They are also characterized by complex aspects including polyploidization and easiness of hybridization. As with most of the Ponto-Caspian sturgeons, the populations of Acipenser ruthenus from the Danube have declined drastically during the last decades. This is the first report on mitochondrial point heteroplasmy in the cytochrome b gene of this species. The 1141 bp sequence of the cytb gene in wild sterlet sturgeon individuals from the Lower Danube was determined, and site heteroplasmy evidenced in three of the 30 specimens collected. Two nucleotide sequences were identified in these heteroplasmic individuals. The majority of the heteroplasmic sites are synonymous and do not modify the sequence of amino acids in cytochrome B protein. To date, several cases of point heteroplasmy have been reported in animals, mostly due to paternal leakage of mtDNA. The presence of specific point heteroplasmic sites might be interesting for a possible correlation with genetically distinct groups in the Danube River.

Delimiting species by reproductive isolation: the genetic structure of epigean and hypogean Trichomycterus spp. (Teleostei, Siluriformes) in the restricted area of Torotoro (Upper Amazon, Bolivia).

Genetic variability of Trichomycterus from the region of Torotoro (Bolivia, Upper Amazon), distributed in the same watershed where the habitat is structured by waterfalls, canyons and a cave, was studied by allozyme (twelve putative loci) and RFLP-mtDNA (DLoop and cytochrome b) analyses. Alloenzymatic variation studied by Correspondence Analysis and Maximum Likelihood Analysis revealed a four-group structure, which was largely congruent with the distribution of the 14 mtDNA haplotypes. Two of these four clusters (I and II) were differentiated by two diagnostic loci (IDH and G3PDH), two semi-diagnostic loci (PGM and 6PGDH) and consequently a very high F(st )value (estimator theta = 0.77). Therefore, clusters I and II are reproductively isolated. The distribution limit of these two (sibling) species does not correspond to those of the morphological species of Trichomycterus identified in this region: the epigean T. cf. barbouri and the hypogean T. chaberti. However, hypogean fish exhibited two mtDNA haplotypes, a private one and another shared with the epigean Trichomycterus from upstream reaches.