Mitochondrial D-loop DNA analyses of Norway lobster ( Nephrops norvegicus) reveals genetic isolation between Atlantic and East Mediterranean populations

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Gallagher, Jeanne, Finarelli, John A., Jonasson, Jónas P., Carlsson, Jens
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2018
• Subjects: Norway; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315418000929; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315418000929

Abstract Nephrops norvegicus is a commercially valuable demersal fisheries species. Relatively little is understood about this species’ population dynamics across its distribution with previous mitochondrial and microsatellite studies failing to identify significant population-level differentiation. In this study, sequence variation in the mitochondrial (mtDNA) D-loop was analysed from samples across the distribution range, and compared with COI sequences for this species retrieved from GenBank. Analysis of a 375 bp fragment of the D-loop revealed significant genetic differentiation between samples from the North-east Atlantic and the east Mediterranean ( F ST = 0.107, P < 0.001). Tau (τ), theta (θ 0 and θ 1 ) and Fu's F S values suggest the species spread between 10,500 to 19,000 ybp and subsequently expanded rapidly across the Atlantic.