DNA barcoding of economically important freshwater fish species from north‐central Nigeria uncovers cryptic diversity |
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Authors: | Moshood K. Mustapha Chioma G. Nzeh Segun O. Oladipo Ifeanyi C. Nneji Agboola O. Okeyoyin Christopher D. Nwani Obih A. Ugwumba Adiaha A. A. Ugwumba Emmanuel O. Faturoti Yun‐yu Wang Jing Chen Wen‐Zhi Wang Adeniyi C. Adeola |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria;2. Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara State, Nigeria;3. Department of Biological Science, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria;4. Nigerian National Park Service Headquarters, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria;5. Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria;6. Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria;7. Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria;8. Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China;9. Wild Forensic Center, Kunming, China;10. Sino‐Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China |
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Abstract: | This study examines the utility of morphology and DNA barcoding in species identification of freshwater fishes from north‐central Nigeria. We compared molecular data (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences) of 136 de novo samples from 53 morphologically identified species alongside others in GenBank and BOLD databases. Using DNA sequence similarity‐based (≥97% cutoff) identification technique, 50 (94.30%) and 24 (45.30%) species were identified to species level using GenBank and BOLD databases, respectively. Furthermore, we identified cases of taxonomic problems in 26 (49.00%) morphologically identified species. There were also four (7.10%) cases of mismatch in DNA barcoding in which our query sequence in GenBank and BOLD showed a sequence match with different species names. Using DNA barcode reference data, we also identified four unknown fish samples collected from fishermen to species level. Our Neighbor‐joining (NJ) tree analysis recovers several intraspecific species clusters with strong bootstrap support (≥95%). Analysis uncovers two well‐supported lineages within Schilbe intermedius. The Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of Nigerian S. intermedius with others from GenBank recover four lineages. Evidence of genetic structuring is consistent with geographic regions of sub‐Saharan Africa. Thus, cryptic lineage diversity may illustrate species’ adaptive responses to local environmental conditions. Finally, our study underscores the importance of incorporating morphology and DNA barcoding in species identification. Although developing a complete DNA barcode reference library for Nigerian ichthyofauna will facilitate species identification and diversity studies, taxonomic revisions of DNA sequences submitted in databases alongside voucher specimens are necessary for a reliable taxonomic and diversity inventory. |
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Keywords: | Biodiversity conservation policy geographic variation integrative taxonomy mitochondrial DNA population divergence |
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