Abstract
Today, with all the sturgeon species almost disappearing all over the world, it is necessary to undertake their recovery under the programs for the conservation of genetic resources. The complete absence of these fish from most rivers increases the difficulties in carrying out such programs, hampering the genetic identification of specimens and their correct species assignment. However, with the development of new and reliable molecular genetic techniques, many studies such as this are yielding insights concerning the sturgeon species that inhabited European rivers in the past. In the last few years, our group has developed forensic techniques to isolate DNA from ancient sturgeon specimens preserved in museums. These DNA samples have been the subject of various analyses conducted on several nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers. The combined use of both types of markers has provided accurate genetic identification of these specimens and has overcome the problem of misinterpretation caused by hybridization and introgression. Here, we show that, in addition to Acipenser sturio (the only species previously believed to inhabit the rivers of Western Europe), two other species, Acipenser naccarii and Acipenser oxyrinchus lived in these rivers. Thus, we have found evidence for the presence of A. naccarii in the Guadalquivir river in the Iberian Peninsula and in some rivers in Italy from the Tyrrhenian/Ligurian side, as well as for the presence of A. oxyrinchus in the Ebro river in Spain. Our studies clarify the distribution of sturgeon species in the Western Mediterranean and open new perspectives for recovery plans.
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Garrido-Ramos, M.A. et al. (2009). Analysis of Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA Markers in Old Museum Sturgeons Yield Insights About the Species Existing in Western Europe: A. sturio, A. naccarii and A. oxyrinchus . In: Carmona, R., Domezain, A., García-Gallego, M., Hernando, J.A., Rodríguez, F., Ruiz-Rejón, M. (eds) Biology, Conservation and Sustainable Development of Sturgeons. Fish & Fisheries Series, vol 29. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8437-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8437-9_2
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