Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck

The Yellowspotted Puffer Torquigener flavimaculosus (Hardy & Randall, 1983) invaded the Mediterranean from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. In the present study, we analyzed two mitochondrial loci, the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) and the control region (D-loop), from the Mediterranean an...

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Main Authors: Yaron Tikochinski, Talya Ohana, Uzi Motro, Daniel Golani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC) 2024-02-01
Series:Aquatic Invasions
Online Access:https://aquaticinvasions.arphahub.com/article/113978/download/pdf/
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author Yaron Tikochinski
Talya Ohana
Uzi Motro
Daniel Golani
author_facet Yaron Tikochinski
Talya Ohana
Uzi Motro
Daniel Golani
author_sort Yaron Tikochinski
collection DOAJ
description The Yellowspotted Puffer Torquigener flavimaculosus (Hardy & Randall, 1983) invaded the Mediterranean from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. In the present study, we analyzed two mitochondrial loci, the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) and the control region (D-loop), from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea populations. Both the COI and the D-loop showed no decrease of genetic variability in the Mediterranean population compared to the source population from the Red Sea. When comparing the genetic variability to two other species of the Tetraodontidae family (Takifugu rubripes and Takifugu obscurus), the mean divergence within the T. flavimaculosus is almost twice as large. T. flavimaculosus has two distinct genetic groups, similarly represented both in the Red Sea and in the Mediterranean, with similar coefficients of differentiation in COI, in D-loop, and, not surprisingly, in the two genes combined. This suggests that T. flavimaculosus has most likely established a sustainable population in the Suez Canal, that has gradually dispersed northward and eventually entered the Mediterranean with a large number of individuals, carrying a great deal of its genetic variability.
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publishDate 2024-02-01
publisher Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC)
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spelling doaj-art-1f3cac3de98645bc9f12dd1342fb5b9d2025-08-20T03:12:50ZengRegional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC)Aquatic Invasions1818-54872024-02-01191253410.3391/ai.2024.19.1.113978113978Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneckYaron Tikochinski0Talya Ohana1Uzi Motro2Daniel Golani3Faculty of Marine Sciences, Ruppin Academic CenterFaculty of Marine Sciences, Ruppin Academic CenterThe Hebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of JerusalemThe Yellowspotted Puffer Torquigener flavimaculosus (Hardy & Randall, 1983) invaded the Mediterranean from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. In the present study, we analyzed two mitochondrial loci, the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) and the control region (D-loop), from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea populations. Both the COI and the D-loop showed no decrease of genetic variability in the Mediterranean population compared to the source population from the Red Sea. When comparing the genetic variability to two other species of the Tetraodontidae family (Takifugu rubripes and Takifugu obscurus), the mean divergence within the T. flavimaculosus is almost twice as large. T. flavimaculosus has two distinct genetic groups, similarly represented both in the Red Sea and in the Mediterranean, with similar coefficients of differentiation in COI, in D-loop, and, not surprisingly, in the two genes combined. This suggests that T. flavimaculosus has most likely established a sustainable population in the Suez Canal, that has gradually dispersed northward and eventually entered the Mediterranean with a large number of individuals, carrying a great deal of its genetic variability.https://aquaticinvasions.arphahub.com/article/113978/download/pdf/
spellingShingle Yaron Tikochinski
Talya Ohana
Uzi Motro
Daniel Golani
Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck
Aquatic Invasions
title Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck
title_full Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck
title_fullStr Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck
title_full_unstemmed Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck
title_short Successful colonization of the Red Sea Yellowspotted Puffer, Torquigener flavimaculosus in the Mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck
title_sort successful colonization of the red sea yellowspotted puffer torquigener flavimaculosus in the mediterranean without a genetic bottleneck
url https://aquaticinvasions.arphahub.com/article/113978/download/pdf/
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AT uzimotro successfulcolonizationoftheredseayellowspottedpuffertorquigenerflavimaculosusinthemediterraneanwithoutageneticbottleneck
AT danielgolani successfulcolonizationoftheredseayellowspottedpuffertorquigenerflavimaculosusinthemediterraneanwithoutageneticbottleneck