Abstract
Population genetic structure and historical demography of Chinese horseshoe crab (T. tridentatus) along southeast coast of China were inferred from the sequence data of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) fragment. The sequence analysis for 964 bp COI fragment was conducted in 28 individuals collected from five localities: Ninghai in Zhejiang Province, Meizhou and Zhangpu in Fujian Province, Beihai of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Danzhou of Hainan Province. Sequence variation was relatively low with a total of seven transitions observed. In all localities, Haplotype H3 was the dominant type observed among eight haplotypes defined previously, and was at the center of radiation in Median-Joining network. The prolonged star-like network suggests a signature of population expansions. The level of diversity was low in total, with haplotype diversity (H d) being equal to 0.765 and nucleotide diversity (π) being equal to 0.001 18, respectively. The genetic structure analysis revealed the significant genetic difference between Ninghai and Danzhou populations. Both mismatch distribution analysis and Fu’s Fs test provided consistent inference of historic population expansion. The low genetic diversity of horseshoe crab observed along China coast indicated that urgent measures should be taken to protect this rare marine animal.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnason E, Palsson S. 1996. Mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequence variation of Atlantic cod, Gadus morthua, from Norway. Mol Ecol, 5: 715–724
Avise J C. 2000. Phylogeography. New York: Academic Press, 104–106
Bandelt H J, Forster P, Rohl A. 1999. Median-joining networks for inferring intraspecific phylogenies. Mol Biol Evol, 16: 37–48
Chen Changpo, Yeh Hsinyi, Lin Pofen. 2004. Conservation of horseshoe crabs in Kinmen, Taiwan: strategies and practices. Biodiv Conserv, 13: 1889–1904
Chiu H M C, Morton B. 1999. The biology, distribution and status of horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda (Arthropoda: Chelicerata) in Hong Kong: recommendations for conservation and management. The Swire Institute of Marine Cience, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Clarke K R, Gorley R N. 2001. PRIMER v5: user manual/ tutorial. PRIMER-E Ltd. Plymouth, UK
Dennis V L, Boore J L, Brown W M. 2000. The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus. Mol Biol Evol, 17(5): 813–824
Excoffier L, Laval G, Schneider S. 2005. Arlequin ver.3.0: An integrated software package for population genetics data analysis. Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online, 1: 47–50
Hu Jian, Zhang Jun L, Nardi F, et al. 2008. Population genetic structure of the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae), from China and Southeast Asia. Genetica, 134: 319–324
King T L, Eackles M S. 2004. Microsatellite DNA markers for the study of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) population structure. Mol Ecol Notes, 4(3): 394–396
Liao Yongyan, Li Xiaomei. 2001. Present situation of horseshoe crab resources in the sea area of China and tactics of preservation. Resources Science Sinica, 23(2): 53–57
Nishida S, Koike H. 2009. Genetic structure of Japanese populations of Tachypleus tridentatus by mtDNA AT-rich region sequence analysis in Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. In: Tanacredi J T, Botton M L, Smith D R, eds. Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crab. New York: Springer, 183–196
Pierce J C, Tan G, Gaffney P M. 2000. Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay populations of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus are genetically distinct. Estuaries, 23(5): 690–698
Rosel P E, Haygood M G, Perrin W F. 1995. Phylogenetic relationship among the true porpoise (Cetacean: Phocoendiae). Mol Phyl Evol, 4(4): 463–474
Rozas J, Sanchez-Delbarrio J C, Messeguer X, et al. 2003. DanSP, DNA polymorphism analyses by the coalescent and other methods. Bioinformatics, 19: 2496–2497
Saunders N C, Kessler L G, Avise J C. 1986. Genetic variation and geographic differentiation in mitochondrial DNA of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Genetics, 112: 613–627
Sekiguchi K. 1988. Biology of horseshoe crabs. Tokyo: Science House Co Ltd
Selander R K, Yang S Y, Lewontin R C, et al. 1970. Genetic variation in the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), a phylogenetic relic. Evolution, 24: 402–414
Wörheide G. 2006. Low variation in partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial sequences in the coralline demosponge Astrosclera willeyana across the Indo-Pacific. Marine Biology, 148: 907–912
Yang Mingche, Chen Chaolun Allen, Hsieh Hweylian, et al. 2007. Population subdivision of the tri-spine horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus, in Taiwan Strait. Zool Sci, 24: 219–224
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: F5 Subject from Science and Technology Department of Fujian Province under contract No. 2008F5038; the Open Foundation from Ocean Fishery Science and Technology in the Most Important Subjects of Zhejiang under contract No. 20100210.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weng, Z., Xiao, Z., Xie, Y. et al. Genetic difference of Chinese horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus) in southeast coast of China based on mitochondrial COI gene analysis. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 31, 132–137 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-012-0213-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-012-0213-0