[Phylogenetic analysis of Altai osmans of the genus Oreoleuciscus (Pisces, Cyprinidae, Leuciscinae), based on the analysis of the cytochrome oxidase 1 gene (Co-1) sequence].

Molecular genetic analysis of Altai osmans of the genus Oreoleuciscus from two different parts of the range was carried out. In this study, based on the mitochondrial Co-1 gene sequence, a total of 25 fish specimens belonging to four genera were examined: (1) O. humilis, 2 specimens; O. potanini, 13 specimens; (2) Pseudaspius leptocephalus, 1 specimen; (3) Tribolodon brandtii, T. hakonensis, and T. sachalinensis from the GenBank database, 8 speciens; and (4) Leuciscus waleckii, 1 specimen (used as an outgroup). The p-distances were very low both within and between the species: (1) 0.20 +/- 0.03%; (2) 0.40 +/- 0.12%; and (1-2) 0.80 +/- 0.04%. To visualize the relationships among all of the species examined, the neighbor joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP), Bayesian (BA), and maximum likelihood (ML) trees were constructed. The results obtained using these methods were very similar. It was demonstrated that species assignment of the individuals (barcoding) with the help Co-1 gene was effective, despite of very low divergence of the two osman taxa, which was comparable with typical intraspecific values in other animal groups. Taxonomic status of O. potanini and O. humilis requires further investigation with paying attention to low genetic distances between these species along with the lack of material from sympatric parts of the ranges.

[Phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis of flatfish species (Teleostei, Pleuronectiformes) inferred from the primary nucleotide sequence of cytochrome oxidase 1 gene (Co-1)].

Seventeen nucleotide sequences of Co-1 gene from 13 Pleuronectiformes species and 2 Perciformes species served as the outgroup were examined. For divergence comparison, the initial stage involved calculation of pairwise p-distances for all investigated sequences. This allowed to evaluate the nucleotide diversity on four phylogenetically different levels: (1) intraspecific, (2) intrageneric, (3) intrafamilial, and (4) intraordinal. The values of p-distances for the Co-1 gene for the four mentioned categories were (1) 0.93 +/- 0.73%, (2) 11.72 +/- 1.86%, (3) 12.10 +/- 1.10%, and (4) 20.20 +/- 0.22%, respectively. An increase in the level of genetic divergence along with an enhancement in taxon rank was previously reported for different species, which might be explained by prevalence of geographic speciation model in nature. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using four approaches: maximum parsimony, Bayesian, maximum likelihood, and neighbor-joining. These trees demonstrated similar results confirming the monophyletic origin of the families studied. The examined representatives of the flatfish species and genera were shown to be sufficiently divergent genetically.

[Population genetic structure of the gastropod Nucella heyseana (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from the Sea of Japan].

To study the Far East gastropod Nucella heyseana (Dunker, 1882), 15 samples were collected in the northwestern region of the Sea of Japan from Pos'et Bight of the Peter the Great Bay in the south to the Valentin Bight in the northeast of Primorye. The genetic variation for four to ten polymorphic allozyme markers and the morphometric variation for five shell traits were analyzed. The interspecific genetic differentiation (as compared with the interspecific variation in sympatric regions) and the comparative between-year variation clearly showed that genetically uniform, thought subdivided, populations occupy each region of a particular bight and groups of regions within the area under study. In total, three local populations were observed in the area; their morphometric differentiation was consistent with their genetic structure.

[Analysis of nucleotide diversity at the cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase 1 genes at the population, species, and genus levels].

Algorithms of nucleotide diversity measures and other measures of genetic divergence at the molecular level are analyzed. Based on a database of p-distances, we have compared genetic divergence of populations (1) and taxa of different rank, such as sibling species (2), species within a genus (3), and species from different genera within a family (4). Based on the theory and algorithms of distance calculation from the primary DNA sequences, as well as the actual distances estimated from literature, it is recommended to use in analysis of experimental data a specific model selected from the eight available ones. The empirical data for more than 24,000 vertebrate and invertebrate species demonstrate that the data series are realistic and interpretable when p-distance or its various estimates are used. This testifies to the applicability of p-distance for most interspecies and intraspecies comparisons of genetic divergence up to the family level by two genes compared. Data on p-distances revealed various and increasing levels of genetic divergence of the sequences of genes Cyt-b and Co-1 in four groups compared. Mean unweighted scores of distances for the four groups were as follows: Cyt-b (1) 1.55 +/- 0.56, (2) 5.52 +/- 1.34, (3) 10.69 +/- 1.34, (4) 18.51 +/- 2.09 and Co-1 (1) 0.55 +/- 0.19, (2) 4.91 +/- 0.83, (3) 9.66 +/- 0.72, (4) 14.69 +/- 1.02. Differences in divergence between the genes themselves at the four levels were also found, although the total mean distances for the two genes did not show statistically significant differences. This conforms to the ample evidence showing different and nonuniform evolution rates of these and other genes and their various regions. The results of the analysis of the nucleotide and allozyme divergence within species and higher taxa of animals, first, are in a good agreement with these results, including data on protein gene markers, and, second, this evidence suggests that in animals, phyletic evolution is likely to prevail at the molecular level, while speciation mainly corresponds to the type D1 geographic model). The prevalence of the D1 speciation mode does not mean that the other modes are absent. There are at least seven various modes of speciation. Recognition of speciation modes is a task that seems to require construction of a quantitative genetic model (theory) of speciation. Although, in view of a vast diversity of the possible causes of reproductive isolating barriers (RIBs) and speciation initiation, as well as the "empirical nature" of the formalized approach, proposed in the present work, some newly arising questions may be left without an answer. Their solution probably lied in increasing the number of descriptors and members of equations, proposed in this study, on the basis of DNA markers and other genomic characteristics.

[Relationship between heterozygosity and quantitative traits: intralocus interactions and multiple-locus averaging].

The dependence of the expression of genotypic values (Y) on gene dosage (X) have been analyzed for four types of intralocus interactions (additivity, dominance, overdominance, and neutrality) using a linear model. Artificial numerical examples have been used to demonstrate that X and Y are positively associated with each other in the cases of additivity, dominance, and overdominance and are not associated in the case of neutrality. The averaging of single-locus genotypic values to obtain multiple-locus genotypes yields different results for different types of intralocus interactions. Genotypic values and individual heterozygosity are positively correlated with each other in the cases of dominance and overdominance and are negatively correlated in the case of additivity. In the case of neutrality, there is still no correlation after averaging. The results obtained and their interpretation suggest a new view on the experimental studies and generalizations on the relationship between heterozygosity and quantitative traits.

[Genetic divergence of Far Eastern dace species belonging to the genus Tribolodon (Pisces, Cyprinidae) and closely related taxa]. / Geneticheskaia divergentsiia vidov dal'nevostochnykh krasnoperok roda Tribolodon (Pisces, Cyprinidae) i blizkikh taksonov.

Based on a biochemical-genetic approach, heterozygosity and divergence of structural genes of 30 enzyme loci were analyzed in six dace species. In addition, intra- and interspecific divergence of gene expression was analyzed based on a sample of 12 to 15 loci. Mean heterozygosities per individual varied as follows: Tribolodon species, Hobs = 0.007 +/- 0.007 and Hexp = 0.007 +/- 0.007; T. ezoe, Hobs = 0.045 +/- 0.016 and Hexp = 0.067 +/- 0.029. Several variants of genetic distances were estimated. Standard Nei's distances (DN) varied from 0.145 to 0.284 in four dace species studied. As related to Tribolodon dace species, the following genetic distances were obtained for two members of other genera: Pseudaspius leptocephalus, DN = 0.269; Leuciscus waleckii, DN = 0.769. Based on the distance matrices, different clustering algorithms were realized. The main feature shared by different dendrograms was a separate position of the cluster joining Far-Eastern dace species, to which P. leptocephalus and L. waleckii are successively added. Among the species studied, the proportion of loci similar by expression (E) varied from 87 to 100%. The greatest difference was found between anadromous and nonanadromous ecotypes of T. hakonensis, E = 67%. The following conclusions can be made: (1) Four studied species of the genus Tribolodon are rather well genetically differentiated. Diagnostic loci are available. (2) A nominal dace species, T. species, should be considered the fourth isolated species of this genus, which is confirmed by its recent zoological acceptance of this species. (3) The origin and divergence of dace species belonging to the genus Tribolodon are relatively late (1 to 3 Myr ago) historical events. (4) Taxonomically, the genus Tribolodon belong to the tribe Pseudaspinini together with P. leptocephalus, which is confirmed by genetic data. (5) Data on heterozygosity and the divergence of structural and regulatory elements of genome, along with the proposed scheme of speciation types, suggest the following speciation modes for the species studied: for four species, adaptive divergence and for two species, genetic transformation.

[Study of two species of mussels, Mytilus trossulus and Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) and their hybrids, using PCR markers, in Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan]. / Issledovanie dvukh vidov midiius trossulus i Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) i ikh gibridov v zalive Petra Velikovo Iaponskogo Moria s pomoshch'iu PTsR-markerov.

Bivalve mollusks of the genus Mytilus (M. trossulus and M. galloprovincialis) occurring in Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan were first studied in Russia. A region of nonrepetitive sequences of the gene encoding the polyphenolic adhesive protein bissus was used as a species-specific genetic marker. After amplification using specific primers, a 126-bp fragment was found to amplify in all representatives of M. galloprovincialis collected from driftwood in the gulf Posset (the southwestern part of Peter the Great Bay). M. trossulus specimens from the same region were shown to have a 168-bp fragment. In Vostok Gulf (the eastern part of Peter the Great Bay), both artificially grown mussels and those from natural habitats contained a 168-bp fragment or two fragments (126- and 168-bp) that corresponded to a hybrid form between the above species. The possibility of using this genetic marker to identify closely related Mytilus strains and their hybrids in similar habitats, near the Primorye coast in particular, was demonstrated. The presence of approximately 9% of hybrid specimens confirms that a zone of hybridization between M. trossulus and M. galloprovincialis may exist in this region.

[Genetic and morphological variability of the gastropod mollusk Nucella heyseana (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the environmental optimum and pessimum]. / Geneticheskaia i morfometricheskaia izmenchivost' briukhonogogo molliuska Nucella heyseana (Mollusca, Gastropoda) v sredovom optimume i pessimume.

Genotypic variability at six allozyme loci and six morphological shell characters was examined in 450 individuals (four samples) of mollusk Nucella heysana from the Vrangel' Bight (Nakhodka Bay) and the Vostok Bay (Peter the Great Gulf, Sea of Japan). An analysis of variation in allele frequencies showed that each of the two localities (Vostok and Nakhodka bays) in the analyzed region is inhabited by a single, albeit genetically heterogeneous, population. A canonical analysis and an analysis of variance of individual heterozygosity (Ho) and morphological variation indicate an association between Ho and morphological variation depending on habitat (interaction) in settlements in the Vrangel' Bight and, to a lesser extent, in the Vostok Bay. These results indicate that, in extreme environmental conditions, allozyme phenotypes may be selected either themselves or as markers of genes linked with them.

[Genetic connections between some species of Mytilidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from the northern part of the Pacific Ocean]. / Geneticheskie sviazi mezhdu nekotorymi vidami Mytilidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) severnoi chasti tikhogo okeana.

In 1978 and 1999, seven and eight species of Mytilidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) were analyzed using gel electrophoresis. Mean heterozygosity per individual (Hobs and Hexp) and genetic distances (Rogers' DR, Nei's DN, and others) were estimated for 21 and 24 allozyme loci. Mytilus modiolus had the highest variation among the species examined. Genetic distances were lowest for the M. trossulus-M. galloprovincialis species pair: DR = 0.147, DN = 0.078. Overall, five species of the genera Mytilus and Crenomytilus were genetically closer to each other (DR = 0.147, DN = 0.078) than to the remaining three species of this group (DR = 0.807, DN = 2.243). The relationships among the species were examined using cluster analysis and parsimony methods. The densest clusters in the dendrograms consisted of (1) M. trossulus and M. galloprovincialis and (2) M. coruscus, M. californianus, and M. grayanus. These two clusters form a larger cluster (3), which comprises all representatives of the nominal genus Mutilus and C. grayanus. The Mytilus-Crenomytilus cluster is consecutively joined by Adula falcatoides, Mytilus modiolus, and Septifer keenae. According to Nei's genetic distances DN, the time of divergence between M. trossulus and M. galloprovincialis is 0.8-1.6 Myr; between M. californianus and C. grayanus, it is approximately 9 Myr; and between M. coruscus and the latter pair, it is 13 Myr before present. Two representatives of the Mytilus ex gr. edulis complex diverged from the Mytilus-Crenomytilus group of large-size Pacific species about 20 Myr ago. These results are in good agreement with paleontological data and indicate a relatively recent origin of the Mytilus ex gr. edulis complex. The results obtained can be used in systematics and phylogeny of modern Mytilidae.