Abstract
Sichuan taimen (Hucho bleekeri) is critically endangered fish listed in The Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Specific locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF‐seq)‐based genotyping was performed for Sichuan taimen with 43 yearling individuals from three locations in Taibai River (a tributary of Yangtze River) that has been sequestered from its access to the ocean for more than 30 years since late 1980s. Applying the inbreeding level and genetic relatedness estimation using 15,396 genome‐wide SNP markers, we found that the inbreeding level of this whole isolated population was at a low level (2.6 × 10−3 ± 0.079), and the means of coancestry coefficients within and between the three sampling locations were all very low (close to 0), too. Genomic differentiation was negatively correlated with the geographical distances between the sampling locations (p < .001), and the 43 individuals could be considered as genetically independent two groups. The low levels of genomic inbreeding and relatedness indicated a relatively large number of sexually mature individuals were involved in reproduction in Taibai River. This study suggested a genomic‐relatedness‐guided breeding and conservation strategy for wild fish species without pedigree information records.
Highlights
Sichuan taimen (Hucho bleekeri) is a large and fierce carnivorous fish species, with a maximum length of 2 m (Hu, Wang, Cao, & Xiong, 2008)
Freshwater fishes are vulnerable to loss genetic diversity because they often live in small, fragmented populations that are susceptible to habitat degradation, pollution, and the introduction of foreign species (Closs, Angermeier, Darwall, & Balcombe, 2015)
Hucho bleekeri wild populations are severely threatened by habitat loss and illegal fishing, resulting in a “critically endangered” status in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List
Summary
Sichuan taimen (Hucho bleekeri) is a large and fierce carnivorous fish species, with a maximum length of 2 m (Hu, Wang, Cao, & Xiong, 2008). With a distribution of about 5,000 km recorded in 1960s, including the upper reaches of the Min and Qingyi rivers in Sichuan Province, the upper and middle reaches of the Dadu River in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, and the Xushui and Taibai rivers located in the upper reaches of the Han River in Shaanxi Province, China The habitats of this fish have been drastically reduced to
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