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Genetic differentiation between populations of swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus along the coastal waters of the East China Sea

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Abstract

Portunus trituberculatus is a commercially important species widely spread in the East China Sea. Intraspecific variation of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtDNA COI) gene was investigated in 213 individuals from six localities (Changjiang Estuary, Shengsi Islands, Zhoushan Islands, Dongtou Islands, Dinghai Bay, and Quanzhou Bay) ranging from north (31°21′N) to south (24°55′N) coastal waters of the East China Sea. Overall, a total of 27 mtDNA haplotypes and 21 variable sites were detected in the 787 bp segment of COI gene. Analysis of mtDNA COI sequence data revealed that crabs from the six localities were characterized by moderately high haplotypic diversity (h = 0.787 ± 0.026), while sequence divergence values between haplotypes were relatively low (π = 0.00241 ± 0.00098). Each population was characterized by a single most frequent haplotype, shared among all six localities, and a small number of rare ones, typically present in only one or two individuals and representative of a specific population. However, neither the neighbor-joining tree nor the minimum spanning network (MSN) based on the haplotype data exhibited geographical patterns of the six populations. Mismatch distribution analysis of P. trituberculatus individuals sampled from the six localities suggested that sudden population expansion might have occurred in CJ and SS population that might be consistent with over-exploitation of the swimming crab. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and F ST statistics showed that significant genetic differentiation existed among the SS, ZS, DT, DH, and QZ populations, suggesting that gene flow might be reduced, even between the geographically close sites, despite the high potential of dispersal. The possible causes of the observed genetic heterogeneity among the P. trituberculatus populations and the potential applications of the mtDNA COI marker in the artificial breeding and fisheries management are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our thanks to all the people in Lianjiang Fisheries and Management Bureau for help in sample collection. This work is supported in part by grants from the Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (T1101), the Shanghai Marine Bio-resources and Environment Innovation Platform Project, and from the Shanghai 908 Project (Synthetical Investigations and Evaluations on Shanghai Coastal Waters) (PJ1-2, ST1/ST2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, No. 999 Huchenghuan Road, Lingang New City, Nanhui District, Shanghai, 201306, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Liu, Ronglei Liu, Liangchen Ye, Jun Liang, Fujun Xuan & Qianghua Xu

  2. Shanghai International Marine Bio-resources Research Center, The Key Laboratory of Oceanic Fisheries Resources Exploitation of Shanghai Education Commission, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Qianghua Xu

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  1. Yong Liu
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  2. Ronglei Liu
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Correspondence to Qianghua Xu.

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Liu, Y., Liu, R., Ye, L. et al. Genetic differentiation between populations of swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus along the coastal waters of the East China Sea. Hydrobiologia 618, 125–137 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9570-2

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