Catfishes from the North-Western Part of Lake Tanganyika: Contribution to a Reference Library of DNA Barcodes
In spite of the global barcoding effort, there is still a lack of genetic data on African freshwater fishes. We aimed to contribute to bridging this gap by providing molecular data on commercially important catfish species from the north-western part of Lake Tanganyika. We collected 215 catfish spec...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/1/8 |
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| Summary: | In spite of the global barcoding effort, there is still a lack of genetic data on African freshwater fishes. We aimed to contribute to bridging this gap by providing molecular data on commercially important catfish species from the north-western part of Lake Tanganyika. We collected 215 catfish specimens and sequenced the standard vertebrate barcoding gene (COI) for 41 specimens. Additionally, we sequenced 20 specimens for the mitochondrial Cyt-b gene to make the link to previously published datasets. We identified 11 species using morphology, compared DNA sequences with those available on GenBank, and employed Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) and phylogenetic approaches. The dataset includes the first molecular data (COI and Cyt-b) for <i>Chrysichthys acsiorum</i>, as well as the first-ever COI sequences for <i>Dinotopterus cunningtoni</i> and <i>Malapterurus tanganyikaensis</i>. Our findings extend the known distribution of <i>C. acsiorum</i> by approximately 100 km. Additionally, we demonstrated the difficulty in delineating species of <i>Chrysichthys</i> and <i>Synodontis</i> from Lake Tanganyika with molecular tools. For <i>Chrysichthys</i>, automated methods, such as ABGD, failed to delineate species. However, barcoding does seem promising as all the individual species are resolved as clades. Within <i>Synodontis</i>, the study found a strong similarity between <i>S. grandiops</i> and <i>S. multipunctatus</i>, highlighting a need for revision. Our findings emphasize the necessity for integrative taxonomy in the study of catfishes from Lake Tanganyika. |
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| ISSN: | 1424-2818 |