Shallow Population Genetic Structures of Thread-sail Filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer) Populations from Korean Coastal Waters

Genetic diversities, population genetic structures and demographic histories of the thread-sail filefish Stephanolepis cirrhifer were investigated by nucleotide sequencing of 336 base pairs of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region in 111 individuals collected from six populations in Korean coastal waters. A total of 70 haplotypes were defined by 58 variable nucleotide sites. The neighbor-joining tree of the 70 haplotypes was shallow and did not provide evidence of geographical associations. Expansion of S. cirrhifer populations began approximate 51,000 to 102,000 years before present, correlating with the period of sea level rise since the late Pleistocene glacial maximum. High levels of haplotype diversities (0.974±0.029 to 1.000±0.076) and nucleotide diversities (0.014 to 0.019), and low levels of genetic differentiation among populations inferred from pairwise population F(ST) values (−0.007 to 0.107), support an expansion of the S. cirrhifer population. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed weak but significant genetic structures among three groups (F(CT) = 0.028, p<0.05), and no genetic variation within groups (0.53%; F(SC) = 0.005, p = 0.23). These results may help establish appropriate fishery management strategies for stocks of S. cirrhifer and related species.