Molecular phylogenetic relationships of puffer fish inferred from partial sequences of cytochrome b gene and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

Phylogenetic relationships among puffer fish were investigated by comparing cytochrome b gene sequences and restriction endonuclease assays of 16 species from Taiwan. DNA was prepared for sequencing by PCR. No variation in sequences was detected among individuals within each species. Direct estimates of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence divergence among 16 puffer fish were from 3.41 to 31.78%. Different restriction patterns were found among 16 puffer fish with 10 restriction endonucleases, whereas no variation in patterns was detected among individuals within each species. The polymorphisms obtained by RFLP have provided a new set of genetic markers for the accurate identification of sibling puffer species. It is the first molecularly based study of puffer diversity and sheds light on the evolution and taxonomy of this major puffer fish family.