New genetic perspectives of the ambiguous pomfret as revealed by CR sequences

Abstract. Pampus argenteus is an economically important fish that is often erroneously identified as Pampus echinogaster. No population genetic analyses have been performed on the true P. argenteus species. Here, the mitochondrial control region (CR) was used to evaluate the population genetics and elaborate the historical demography of the Silver pomfret collected from six geographical locations in China, Pakistan, and Kuwait. A high level of genetic diversity was demonstrated in this species. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that the genetic divergence was mainly derived from within the populations (P < 0.05). A historical demographic analysis indicated that the Silver pomfret experienced a recent population expansion during the late Pleistocene. The phylogeographical structure revealed two obvious lineages that diverged in the late Pleistocene, during which the Silver pomfret populations historically experienced exotic divergence and mixed again with differentiated populations. Currently, Silver pomfret populations have insufficient time to attain migration-drift equilibrium. Population genetic data of the Silver pomfret can provide preliminary genetic knowledge for its fishery management.