Phylogeny of the lamprey genus Lampetra inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b and ND3 gene sequences
Summary
Mitochrondrial DNA analysis resolved many previously unanswered questions concerning the phylogeny of the lamprey genus Lampetra (comprising the subgenera Entosphenus, Lethenteron, and Lampetra). A total of 735 base pairs were sequenced from the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3) genes in 11 lamprey species. With the exception of L . (E.) hubbsi from California, species of the Entosphenus subgenus formed a tight-knit clade that was very distinct from the other two subgenera. Lampetra hubbsi clustered with species of the Lampetra subgenus from the west coast of North America (L . ayresii and L . richardsoni) whereas species of the Lampetra subgenus from Atlantic drainages, namely the North American L . aepyptera and [...]
Summary
Mitochrondrial DNA analysis resolved many previously unanswered questions concerning the phylogeny of
the lamprey genus Lampetra (comprising the subgenera Entosphenus, Lethenteron, and Lampetra). A total of 735 base
pairs were sequenced from the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3) genes in 11 lamprey species.
With the exception of L . (E.) hubbsi from California, species of the Entosphenus subgenus formed a tight-knit clade
that was very distinct from the other two subgenera. Lampetra hubbsi clustered with species of the Lampetra subgenus
from the west coast of North America (L . ayresii and L . richardsoni) whereas species of the Lampetra subgenus from
Atlantic drainages, namely the North American L . aepyptera and European L . fluviatilis, formed a third cluster.
A fourth cluster included two species from the Lethenteron subgenus (L . japonica and L . appendix). Inclusion of
published data from a third Lethenteron species, L . zanandreai, showed it to group with the L . (L .) fluviatilis lineage
rather than with the other two Lethenteron species. Within each subgenus, members of paired and satellite species were
closely related to one another (e.g., L . japonica and L . appendix) or were genetically indistinguishable (e.g., L . ayresii
and L . richardsoni). Using rates of molecular evolution estimated in other fish taxa, these genetically indistinguishable
species diverged less than 70 000 years ago.