Zhou Xiyi, Ouyang Min, Zhang Yin, Ikhwanuddin Mhd, Ma Hongyu, Ye Shaopan
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology Shantou University Shantou China.
International Joint Research Center for the Development and Utilization of Important Mariculture Varieties Surrounding the South China Sea Region Shantou University Shantou China.
Evol Appl. 2025 Sep 3;18(9):e70153. doi: 10.1111/eva.70153. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Mud crab () is an economically important aquaculture crustacean species in China and Southeast Asia countries. However, the catches of wild mud crabs declined sharply due to overfishing and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the current genetic resources and population history of mud crab (), which would provide appropriate guidelines for genetic resource management and breeding programs. To achieve this goal, a total of 146 mud crabs from four geographic populations in the southeast coast of China were collected for whole genome resequencing to investigate the genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and runs of homozygosity (ROHs). Results showed that the nucleotide diversity (π) ranged from 0.00157 to 0.00160, with observed heterozygosity (0.248-0.257) approximately equal to expected heterozygosity (0.260-0.265), indicating that these populations were near Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, albeit with relatively low polymorphism. The results of PCA, population structure, phylogenetic tree, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis consistently indicated weak genetic differentiation among different geographic populations. ROHs detection revealed 47,142 ROHs in mud crabs, with over 60% shorter than 0.1 Mb. Moreover, the average genomic inbreeding coefficient estimated by ROHs ( = 0.0293) and homozygous sites ( = 0.0389) suggested relatively low inbreeding in mud crab populations. Notably, 29 candidate genes were identified in potential ROH islands, including growth and development-related genes ( and ), which may play an important role in the adaptive evolution of mud crabs. Overall, our results would provide valuable insights for conserving, managing, and improving the genetic resources of mud crabs ().
青蟹()是中国和东南亚国家重要的经济水产养殖甲壳类物种。然而,由于过度捕捞和环境污染,野生青蟹的捕获量急剧下降。因此,有必要了解青蟹()当前的遗传资源和种群历史,这将为遗传资源管理和育种计划提供适当的指导方针。为了实现这一目标,总共收集了来自中国东南沿海四个地理种群的146只青蟹进行全基因组重测序,以研究遗传多样性、种群遗传结构和纯合子连续区域(ROHs)。结果表明,核苷酸多样性(π)范围为0.00157至0.00160,观察到的杂合度(0.248 - 0.257)大致等于预期杂合度(0.260 - 0.265),表明这些种群接近哈迪 - 温伯格平衡,尽管多态性相对较低。主成分分析(PCA)、种群结构、系统发育树和连锁不平衡(LD)分析的结果一致表明不同地理种群之间的遗传分化较弱。ROHs检测在青蟹中发现了47,142个ROHs,超过60%短于0.1 Mb。此外,通过ROHs估计的平均基因组近亲繁殖系数(= 0.0293)和纯合位点(= 0.0389)表明青蟹种群的近亲繁殖程度相对较低。值得注意的是,在潜在的ROH岛中鉴定出29个候选基因,包括与生长发育相关的基因(和),它们可能在青蟹的适应性进化中发挥重要作用。总体而言,我们的结果将为保护、管理和改善青蟹()的遗传资源提供有价值的见解。