Molecular data confirm the species status of Neoechinorhynchus personatus and N. yamagutii (Acanthocephala, Neoechinorhynchidae) from the Atlantic and Pacific grey mullets (Teleostei, Mugilidae)

• Main Authors: Sarabeev, Volodimir, Tkach, Ie., Sueiro, R. A., Leiro, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Publishing House "Akademperiodyka" of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 2020
• Subjects: 18S rRNA partial gene sequences; Chelonlabrosus; Mugil cephalus; Neoechinorhynchus agilis; Neoechinorhynchus personatus; Neoechinorhynchus yamagutii
• Online Access: https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/14

Neoechinorhynchus is known to be the mostdiverse acanthocephalan taxon with worldwide distribution; its species are characterized by uniformityof anatomical organization. The taxonomic status of Neoechinorhynchus agilis s. l. from grey mullets wasrecently reviewed that resulted in description of two new species, Neoechinorhynchus (Hebesoma) personatusand Neoechinorhynchus (Hebesoma) yamagutii. In the current study,18S rRNA partial gene sequenceswere obtained to molecularly characterize N. (N.) agilis, N. (H.) personatus and N. (H.) yamagutiifrom grey mullets, Chelonlabrosus and Mugil cephalus, in the North-East Atlantic, the Japan, Azov andMediterranean Seas. The universal (F-566 and R-1200) and specific eukaryotic set primers were used toamplify specimens from each species of Neoechinorhynchus. It has been found that three species can beclearly recognized using universal primers, which allow to obtain sequences of 590 to 664 bp in length.The genetic divergences estimated between three species sequenced here were relatively high, at rangedbetween 2.08 and 6.57 %. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that the studied species of Neoechinorhynchusfrom grey mullet fish share common ancestor, despite their different geographic location, and areclosely related. The terminal position of N. (N.) agilis and N. (H.) personatus on the evolution tree andthe low genetic divergence found between them suggests the recent emergence of this group and that thecolonization of the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean regions could represent a single event. Ourphylogenetic analysis, which included several species of the subgenera Neoechinorhynchus and Hebesoma,showed that the latter is a polyphyletic taxon.