Abstract
In order to illuminate the phylogeography of brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations in the Balkan state of Serbia, the 561 bp 5'-end of mtDNA control region of 101 individuals originating from upland tributaries of the Danubian, Aegean and Adriatic drainages were sequenced and compared to corresponding brown trout sequences obtained in previous studies. Among 15 haplotypes found, 14 were considered native, representing the Danubian and Adriatic lineages of the brown trout, while one haplotype (ATcs1), found only in two individuals originating from two stocked rivers, corresponded to the Atlantic lineage and was considered introduced. Native haplotypes exhibited a strong geographic pattern of distribution: the Danubian haplotypes were strictly confined to the Danubian drainage, while the Adriatic haplotypes dominated in the Aegean and Adriatic drainages; most of the total molecular variance (69%) was attributed to differences among the drainages. Phylogenetic reconstruction, supplemented with seven haplotypes newly described in this study, suggested a sister position of the Atlantic-Danubian and Adriatic-Mediterranean-marmoratus ("southern") phylogenetic group, and pointed to the existence of a distinct clade, detected within the "southern" group. The data obtained confirmed our expectation of the existence of high genetic diversity in Balkan trout populations, and we recommend more widespread surveys covering trout stocks from the region.
Highlights
In order to illuminate the phylogeography of brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations in the Balkan state of Serbia, the 561 bp 5’-end of mtDNA control region of 101 individuals originating from upland tributaries of the Danubian, Aegean and Adriatic drainages were sequenced and compared to corresponding brown trout sequences obtained in previous studies
The presence of an Adriatic haplotype found in the Danubian drainage is likely a consequence of direct fish transfer from one drainage into another: for example, trout-farms situated on upper reaches of the Aegean drainage in western Bulgaria have been largely used for stocking of the Jerma River
Our study shows that indigenous brown trout still exist in Serbia, at least in the upper reaches of main watercourses
Summary
In a recently released publication [31], a highly divergent haplotype that grouped within the Danubian clade was reported to be found in the upper part of the Tigris-Euphrates basin These findings imply that the inclusion of under-explored brown trout stocks in phylogeographic studies is crucial for a fully comprehensive understanding of brown trout phylogeography and evolutionary history of the species. One such poorly explored area with importance to the post-glacial faunal evolution and colonisation of Europe is the Balkan Peninsula, noted as a biodiversity hotspot [10, 23]. These studies, are not truly representative of Balkan populations, since they were limited to few short coastal streams belonging only to the Aegean and Adriatic-Ionian drainage
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