Genetic diversity and population structure of Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis using mitochondrial DNA sequences

Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis is an endangered freshwater fish which is endemic to part of China. To investigate its genetic diversity and population structure, mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and D-loop control region were used to analyze samples from five different locations. Fifteen haplotypes were identified; however, no shared haplotypes were observed among different streams. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) results indicated that 77.38% of total variation was attributed to differentiation between populations, whereas 22.62% from variation within populations. The high genetic differentiation among the populations would provide useful information for building natural reserves and artificially releasing cultured juveniles in the future.