Genetic barcoding and preliminary phylogenetic analysis of Serranidae species from Maltese coastal waters, with a perspective on their Mediterranean phylogeography

Abstract

Ten species of the Serranidae Family sampled from the Mediterranean, including two non- native species, were identified using molecular genetic tools. Two mitochondrial genes,

cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and Cytochrome b (Cyt b) genes were studied covering a total of 980 bp of which 360 bp exhibited genetic differences. Within species the members of the genus Serranus exhibited the highest haplotypic diversity, while the genera of larger grouper taxa have shown low haplotypic and nucleotide diversity indices with these genetic markers. Each sequence was also checked against BOLD and GenBank databases to compare species categorization. COI data on S. cabrilla and S. scriba were used in a preliminary phylogeographic analyses for these two species. Results show significant differences between certain sampling locations, indicating localized populations within the Mediterranean.