Abstract:
It has been assumed that sturgeons originated in the Tethys Sea, and the Black Sea is their most important diversification center. Hence Turkey has had a significant place throughout history. Although there are some genetic studies about sturgeon species that inhabit the Black Sea, these studies have not included samples from Turkey. In this study, the phylogenetic relationship, cladistic positions, and genetic variations were determined from the Cyt-b (1141bp) mtDNA of 3 sturgeon species (n = 28), collected from Turkish coast of the Black Sea between 2005 and 2007. Nineteen haplotypes, and haplotype diversity ranging from 81.8% to 96.4%, were detected from Cyt-b sequences. Studied A+T rates were found between 52.6 and 53.8% for all species. Ti/Tv rates were estimated for each species: A. gueldenstaedtii (9: 1), A. stellatus (7: 2), and H. huso (6: 0). Nucleotide diversity and nucleotide differences calculated for three species varied from 0.167-0.378% and 1.89-4.2, respectively. Genetic distances were calculated (1.258-5.288%). Each species was separated by phylogenetic reconstruction with a high bootstrap value (100%). All A. gueldenstaedtii samples replaced in the Black Sea Lineage Group and were separated into 2 clades (A and B). Similarly, A. stellatus samples were separated into 2 clades, but H. huso samples were not separated.