Relationships of osmerid fishes (Osmeridae) of Russia: divergence of nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial and nuclear genes

Relationships of seven species of smelts (family Osmeridae) inhabiting Russian waters were analyzed on the basis of nucleotide sequence divergence of cytb, COI and intron 1 of rpS7 genes. Nuclear sequence divergence between the species within of the genera Osmerus, Mallotus and Hypomesus was 1.6–2.6, 2.9 and 6.6–11.8 %, respectively, and mitochondrial sequence divergence was 8.9–9.7, 3.9 and 15.1–18.3 %, respectively. The mtDNA divergence was 20.4 % between the genera Hypomesus and Mallotus, 18.47 % between Hypomesus and Osmerus, and 17.62 % between Mallotus and Osmerus. Nuclear DNA divergence was 11.58, 11.19, and 11.37 %, respectively. MP, ML and Bayesian analyses coupled with inclusion in analyses of GenBank-derived sequences of osmerid species that do not inhabit this region suggest that the lineage of the genus Mallotus was the first to separate from the common hypothetic ancestor of the smelts and is sister to the Osmerus–Hypomesus clade. The position of Hypomesus olidus is not resolved and points to the need for further research.