Molecular characteristics of mitochondrial DNA and phylogenetic analysis of the loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) from the Poyang Lake.

The goal of our study was to investigate the molecular characteristics of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and phylogenetic construction of the weather loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) in Poyang Lake. The complete mitochondrial genome was 16,634 bp, and the gene order was identical to that of teleost fishes. Compared with the previous reported weather loach in China, there were numerous nucleotide substitutions and length polymorphisms on the structural genes of mitochondrial DNA in the loach from the Poyang Lake. The Phylogenetic tree indicated that the loach had its own molecular characteristics and was somewhat different from those in other regions of China. Fourteen unique haplotypes of the cytochrome b (cyt b) gene were obtained from 300 weather loaches. The Phylogenetic tree based on the cyt b gene showed that the loaches were substructured into two different populations in The Poyang Lake. Results indicated that the loaches in Poyang Lake not only showed the same phylogeny as the loaches in other areas of China, but also generated its own unique phylogenetic relationships.