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Resolving the phylogenetic relationship of Himalayan snow trout Schizothorax plagiostomus with other species of Schizothoracine using mitochondrial CO-I and Cyt b genes

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Abstract

Background

The classification of the sub-family Schizothoracinae has been debatable due to the overlap in morphological characters. There are discrepancies between classical taxonomy and molecular taxonomy, as well. In the present study, mitochondrial genes CO-I and Cyt b were sequenced to elucidate the phylogenetic status of three species of the genus Schizothorax.

Methods and results

In total, 29 samples of three species viz., S. plagiostomus, S. progastus, and S. richardsonii, were collected from rivers of Uttarakhand, India. For phylogenetic analyses, 40 sequences of CO-I and 41 sequences of Cyt b of Schizothoracinae species were downloaded from NCBI. The highest genetic divergence based on CO-I (16.08%) is between S. plagiostomus and Ptychobarbus dipogon, while the lowest divergence (0.00%) is between 10 pairs of species. The highest divergence based on Cyt b (19.43%), is between S. niger and Gymnocypris eckloni, while the lowest divergence (0.00%) is between four pairs of species. The divergence (0.00% for CO-I and 2.38% for Cyt b) between S. chongi and S. kozlovi, seems a case of convergent molecular evolution of the CO-I gene and in this case, CO-I alone cannot be used to differentiate these two species.

Conclusion

The simultaneous use of two molecular markers along with morphomeristic data is a better strategy for the classification of the sub-family Schizothoracinae. These results will be a resource dataset for determining the taxonomical status of Schizothoracine species and will help in the conservation and commercial production of these commercially important fish species.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, HNBGU, Research and Consultancy. Coordination cell, HNBGU, and past and present Head(s), Dept. of Zoology, HNBGU, for valuable support. The Authors are thankful to the Director, ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow for providing the lab facilities. IB acknowledges the financial support from the University Grants Commission (F.30104/2015BSR) and the Department of Science and Technology (ECR/ 2018/000868).

Funding

Funding was provided by University Grants Commission (F.30104/2015BSR,DST-SERB,ECR/2018/000868).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Campus, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, 246174, India

    Shriya Purohit, Partigya Sharma, Sachin Kothiyal, Upendra Singh, Prakash Nautiyal & Indrashis Bhattacharya

  2. Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226002, India

    Mahender Singh

Authors
  1. Shriya Purohit
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  2. Partigya Sharma
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  3. Sachin Kothiyal
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  4. Upendra Singh
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  5. Prakash Nautiyal
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  6. Mahender Singh
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  7. Indrashis Bhattacharya
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Contributions

IB conceived the concept. SP and MS generated all the data with support from PS, SK, and US. SP, MS, and IB analyzed the data, and SP, MS, PN, and IB prepared the final form of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mahender Singh or Indrashis Bhattacharya.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

As freshly dead specimens were collected from the commercial catch, therefore, ethical guidelines for the experimental use of fish do not apply to the present study.

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Supplementary Information

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11033_2023_8274_MOESM1_ESM.jpeg

Supplementary file1 (JPEG 810 kb). Supplementary Figure 1. Sample collection sites of Schizothorax plagiostomus at Srinagar (30.22 N, 78.79 E) in River Alaknanda and at Nandprayag (30.33 N,79.33 E) in River Nandakini

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Purohit, S., Sharma, P., Kothiyal, S. et al. Resolving the phylogenetic relationship of Himalayan snow trout Schizothorax plagiostomus with other species of Schizothoracine using mitochondrial CO-I and Cyt b genes. Mol Biol Rep 50, 3927–3933 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-023-08274-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-023-08274-y

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