Population genetic structure of the Silver Pomfret, Pampus argenteus (Euphrasén, 1788), in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman as revealed by microsatellite variation

Abstract

Microsatellite markers were applied to identify genetically distinct populations of the Silver Pomfret, Pampus argenteus (Euphrasén, 1788), in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Biological data suggested that Iran, Iraq and Kuwait have one shared stock unit. Genomic DNAs from 125 specimens from five different geographic areas in Iran and Kuwait were extracted and PCR amplification performed. Seven loci with reasonable polymorphism were amplified. The results show that the average of observed heterozygosity was 0.53 while expected heterozygosity was 0.67. After applying the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) test, some loci were found to deviate significantly from HWE in some populations in which deficiency of heterozygotes was apparent. The highest population differentiation was found between the Kuwait and Bushehr (population differentiation value F st=0.087, P≤0.01), while it was lowest between Chabahar and Bushehr (F st=0.021, P≤0.01). The highest genetic distance was found between Khuzestan and Chabahar (Genetic distance value: 0.269), and the lowest (0.075) between Bushehr and Chabahar. These data provide some new information on the genetic variation and differentiation within the Gulf population of Pampus argenteus and enhance our understanding of the ecology of this commercially important species.