title: Phylogeography of loaches of the genus lefua (balitoridae, cypriniformes) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences.
abstract: In order to elucidate phylogenetic relationships and intraspecific variations and to infer the evolutionary process of loaches of the genus Lefua, we analyzed nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial D-loop region of 100 specimens obtained from 97 localities in Japan and Korea. The genus Lefua includes three described species, L. nikkonis, L. echigonia, and L. costata and an undescribed species, Lefua sp. Our results showed that each species of Lefua formed a monophyletic group, indicating clearly that Lefua species can be genetically distinguished from one another. Lefua nikkonis was the most closely related to L. costata, while L. sp. was the most closely related to L. echigonia. Specimens of L. sp. were grouped into two intraspecific populations and specimens of L. echigonia were grouped into six populations. These populations were well separated geographically from one another by mountain ranges and highlands. We estimated the evolutionary time for splitting of the species and intraspecific populations, and speculated on the evolutionary process of the genus Lefua. Species of Lefua are severely threatened. Fundamental genetic information is indispensable for conservation. We presented genetic background in order to protect these threatened loaches.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mihara
authors.forename: Takehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Koushin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakao
authors.forename: Leonardo de Oliveira
authors.initials: Lde O
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hosoya
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003531:Cypriniformes / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D003710:Demography; D005843:Geography; D007564:Japan; D007723:Korea; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial