title: Molecular systematics of the freshwater stingrays (myliobatiformes: potamotrygonidae) of the Amazon, Orinoco, Magdalena, Esequibo, Caribbean, and Maracaibo basins (Colombia - Venezuela): evidence from three mitochondrial genes.
abstract: Lack of adequate information about the taxonomic and evolutionary relationships, ecology, biology, and distribution of several species belonging to the family Potamotrygonidae makes these species vulnerable to anthropic activities, including commercial overexploitation for the ornamental fish market. The aim of this study was to investigate the systematic relationships among genera and species belonging to this family by analyses of three mitochondrial gene regions. Samples were collected from the main river basins in Colombia and Venezuela for four genera and seven species of the family, as well as for what appear to be unidentified species. Three mitochondrial molecular markers COI, Cytb, and ATP6 were amplified and sequenced. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis were performed to obtain topologies for each marker and for a concatenated dataset including the three genes. Small dataset may compromise some methods estimations of sequence divergence in the ATP6 marker. Monophyly of the four genera in Potamotrygonidae was confirmed and phylogenetic relationships among members of the Potamotrygon genus were not clearly resolved. However, results obtained with the molecular marker Cytb appear to offer a good starting point to differentiate among genera and species as a tool that could be used for barcoding. The application of this gene as a barcode could be applied for management and regulation of extraction practices for these genera. Sequencing complete mitochondrial genomes would be the next step for testing evolutionary hypothesis among these genera. Population structure analyses should be undertaken for Paratrygon, Potamotrygon magdalenae and motoro.
authors.affiliation: a Laboratorio De Ecología Molecular De Vertebrados Acuáticos , Universidad De Los Andes , Bogota , Colombia and.
authors.forename: David Alejandro
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: b Instituto De Investigación De Recursos Biológicos Alexander Von Humboldt , Bogota , Colombia.
authors.forename: Carlos Andres
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lasso
authors.affiliation: b Instituto De Investigación De Recursos Biológicos Alexander Von Humboldt , Bogota , Colombia.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: a Laboratorio De Ecología Molecular De Vertebrados Acuáticos , Universidad De Los Andes , Bogota , Colombia and.
authors.forename: Susana Josefina
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Caballero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D017691:Caribbean Region; D003105:Colombia; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005618:Fresh Water; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012754:Sharks / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014687:Venezuela
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D045303:Cytochromes b; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV; D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases
keywords: Colombia; Potamotrygonidae; Venezuela; conservation; molecular systematics