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Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals three stocks of yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre, 1788) in Indian waters

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Abstract

Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is an epipelagic, oceanic species of family Scombridae found in tropical and subtropical region of Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Ocean. It is commercially important fish and accounts for 19 % of total tuna catches in Indian waters. In present study, population structure of yellowfin tuna was examined using sequence analysis of mitochondrial DNA from seven geographically distinct locations along the Indian coast. A 500 bp segment of D-loop region was sequenced and analysed for 321 yellowfin samples. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance showed significant genetic differentiation among three groups (VE); (AG); (KO, TU, PO, VI, PB) analyzed (Φ ST  = 0.03844, P ≤ 0.001). In addition, spatial analysis of molecular variance identified three genetically heterogeneous groups of yellowfin tuna in Indian waters. Results were further corroborated by significant value of nearest neighbour statistic (S nn = 0.261, P ≤ 0.001). Thus finding of this study rejects the null hypothesis of single panmictic population of yellowfin tuna in Indian waters.

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Acknowledgments

We take this opportunity to thank the Director, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India for providing necessary facilities. The financial support for the project has been provided by Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India to M.R.M. by a grant-in-aid project “Genetic Characterization of tunas using DNA markers” and is gratefully acknowledged. Authors Swaraj Priyaranjan Kunal and Girish Kumar are grateful to DST and CSIR-NIO (Lizette D’Souza and V. Banakar) for their fellowship support. The authors also wish to thank N. Ramaiah for providing sequencing facilities. This paper forms a part of PhD studies of Swaraj Priyaranjan Kunal.

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  1. Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, 403004, Goa, India

    Swaraj Priyaranjan Kunal, Girish Kumar, Maria Rosalia Menezes & Ram Murti Meena

  2. Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, 522510, India

    Swaraj Priyaranjan Kunal

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  1. Swaraj Priyaranjan Kunal
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Correspondence to Swaraj Priyaranjan Kunal.

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Kunal, S.P., Kumar, G., Menezes, M.R. et al. Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals three stocks of yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre, 1788) in Indian waters. Conserv Genet 14, 205–213 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-013-0445-3

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