Nguyen Hoang Danh, Khoa Do Hoang Dang, Van Vu Van, Vu Minh Thiet
NTT Hi-Tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam.
Center for Hi-Tech Development, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Saigon Hi-Tech Park, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam.
Mol Biol Rep. 2025 Sep 12;52(1):898. doi: 10.1007/s11033-025-11017-w.
The family Bagridae, a diverse catfish group, is known for its taxonomic complexity, wherein evolutionary relationships are often obscured by morphological convergence. The Asian Bumblebee Catfish, Pseudomystus siamensis (Regan, 1913), endemic to the Mekong and Chao Phraya River basins, exemplifies this ambiguity. Its phylogenetic position has remained uncertain due to limited molecular data, hindering taxonomic clarity and conservation planning.
To resolve the phylogenetic placement of P. siamensis, we sequenced its complete mitogenome using Oxford Nanopore Technologies. The circular mitogenome is 16,525 bp long and contains the canonical 37 vertebrate genes. A maximum-likelihood phylogeny built from a concatenated dataset of 13 protein-coding genes across 40 bagrid species robustly placed P. siamensis as a distinct lineage sister to the large, paraphyletic East Asian assemblage comprising Tachysurus, Pseudobagrus, Leiocassis, and Pelteobagrus. To test the monophyly of Pseudomystus, we conducted a second analysis using the cytochrome b gene that included two congeners. This analysis recovered Pseudomystus species as a strongly supported monophyletic group.
This study provides the first mitogenomic-scale placement of P. siamensis, definitively refuting earlier hypotheses that allied it with Hemibagrus and Mystus. We also provide the first molecular evidence supporting the monophyly of Pseudomystus. Our findings reinforce the widespread paraphyly of several East Asian bagrid genera, highlighting an urgent need for formal taxonomic revision. The mitogenome presented here is a useful genomic resource for future systematic and conservation studies in Bagridae.
鲿科是一个种类多样的鲶鱼群体，以其分类复杂性而闻名，其中进化关系常常因形态趋同而模糊不清。湄公河和湄南河流域特有的亚洲黄蜂鲶鱼，即暹罗拟鲿（Regan，1913年），就是这种模糊性的例证。由于分子数据有限，其系统发育位置一直不确定，这阻碍了分类的清晰度和保护规划。
为了解决暹罗拟鲿的系统发育定位问题，我们使用牛津纳米孔技术对其完整的线粒体基因组进行了测序。环状线粒体基因组长度为16,525 bp，包含37个典型的脊椎动物基因。基于40种鲿科物种的13个蛋白质编码基因的串联数据集构建的最大似然系统发育树有力地将暹罗拟鲿定位为一个独特的谱系，是由鲇属、拟鲿属、鳠属和黄颡鱼属组成的大型并系东亚类群的姐妹群。为了检验拟鲿属的单系性，我们使用细胞色素b基因进行了第二次分析，该分析包括两个同属物种。该分析将拟鲿属物种恢复为一个得到有力支持的单系类群。
本研究首次在线粒体基因组规模上确定了暹罗拟鲿的位置，明确反驳了早期将其与半鲿属和鳠属联系起来的假设。我们还提供了首个支持拟鲿属单系性的分子证据。我们的研究结果强化了几个东亚鲿科属广泛存在的并系性，突出了进行正式分类修订的迫切需求。这里呈现的线粒体基因组是鲿科未来系统发育和保护研究的有用基因组资源。
