Population genetic structure of the ice goby (Leucopsarion petersii Hilgendorf, 1880) in Korea

Abstract

Ice goby, Leucopsarion petersii (Gobiidae, Pisces) is anadromous and has a very short life span (one year), which suggests a potential of population genetic structure. It has been poorly understandable because of few studies on biology of L petersii all over the world including Korea. It is even listed as not-evaluated in the IUCN. Population genetic studies are essential to clarify how many lineages (or groups) are existed. The mitochondrial cyt b and nuclear myh6 sequences were analyzed to evaluate the population genetic structure of L. petersii collected from Busan (llgwangcheon), Geoje (Yulpocheon) and Tongyeong (Sinbongcheon), including sequences of Kokita and Nohara (2011 ). Our comprehensive studies showed that it tended to divide into three lineages (Korean lineage vs. western coast of Japan lineage vs. Pacific coast of Japan lineage). The Korean lineage showed significant fixation indices (Fst) from the western coast of Japan (Fst=0.119 in cyt b and Fst=0.295 in myh6) and from the Pacific coast of Japan (Fst=0.664 in cyt b and Fst=0.566 in myh6). Although ice goby is anadromous, we could not find an evidence of natal homing between three locations (Busan, Geoje and Tongyeong) in Korea based on cytb and myh6. Further studies are needed to clarify metapopulation structure using more sensitive makers such as microsatellite or SNP.