Population structure of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica as examined by mitochondrial DNA sequencing

Abstract

To examine the population structure of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica, mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis was made for various samples of glass eels that might reflect genetic characteristics of spawning aggregates. The mitochondrial DNA from a total of 51 glass eels collected at Tanegashima Island, Kanagawa and Ibaraki in different periods within an inshore migrating season was sequenced for a 615 base-pair fragment from the tRNA^Thr gene to the central part of the control region. The DNA region was so variable that no individual was found to possess the same sequence, although average sequence differences within samples (1.07-1.63) were not large. Average sequence differences between samples (1.22-1.57) were comparable to those within samples, suggesting no genetic heterogeneity among samples. Tree analysis of the sequences showed neither a geographical nor temporal structure of population. Furthermore, although all DNA sequences from the present study were different from one another, two sequences were found to be the same with those reported from individuals collected in different localities in different years. Altogether, the present mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of glass eels did not provide any evidence for genetic subdivision of the Japanese eel population.