On the origin of endemic stone charr in the Kamchatka River basin

Abstract

The Kamchatka River basin (Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia) is populated by numerous anadromous and resident forms of charr, Salvelinus, including the endemic stone charr, a specialized predator that inhabits the river and its tributaries along with the Northern Dolly Varden. Nucleotide sequences of the entire gene sequence of cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase-1, control region and locus of the lactate dehydrogenase gene (LDH-C1) were used for analysis of stone charr differentiation and its phylogenetic relationships with other representatives of the Bering group (Northern Dolly Varden S. malma malma and white charr S. albus). The ratio of within- to between-population divergence of mtDNA nucleotide sequences was analogous to that previously reported for S. malma malma populations. The genealogy of mtDNA haplotypes and analysis of LDH-C1 gene confirms the affinity of stone charr and white charr to the Northern Dolly Varden phylogenetic group. Two divergent mtDNA lineages have been identified in the Kamchatka River basin, with stone charr and white charr being the main carriers of the haplotypes of a new identified group in this region. Evidence has been obtained for the common origin of stone charr from the Kamchatka River basin and Northern Dolly Varden from the Chukchi Peninsula and Alaska.