Population structure and sequence divergence in the mitochondrial DNA control region of gizzard shad Konosirus punctatus in Korea and Japan

Abstract

To investigate the extent of genetic differentiation among populations, genetic polymorphism in gizzard shad Konosirus punctatus, collected from wild populations of eight locations in Korea and four locations in Japan, was examined using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. Two distinct mitochondrial lineages were detected: Lineage A was only distributed around Korean coastal waters and dominates the western and southwestern coast group of Korea. While Japanese groups of K. punctatus were exclusively assigned to lineage B. The co-occurrence of both lineages in southeast and east coasts of Korean coastal waters indicated that the current distribution pattern of gizzard shad populations was constructed by secondary contact.