Genetic analysis of Carasobarbus karaman, 1971 (Actinopterygii cyprinidae) in Anatolia

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1141 bp) of 70 individuals from ten populations of three Carasobarbus species in Anatolia. Totally eight haplotypes were identified. The intraspecies genetic distance ranged from 0.00% to 0.21%, while it varied from 2.6% to 9.0% for interspecies. Except for Gaziantep samples with low sample size, high haplotype diversity (Hd= 0,590-0,833) and low nucleotide diversity (Pi= 0,05-0,65) values can be explained by the presence of small populations sensitive to genetic drift and constituent effects. Phylogenetic analyses conducted through the application of neihgbour joining, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony produced similar topologies supported by high bootstrap values. Phylogenetic tree topologies showed that the C. apoensis haplotype was located in the C. luteus species. Therefore, the validity of species status of C. apoensis should be checked morphologically. On the other hand, since the Kahta population in C. luteus has a remarkably high genetic diversity, it must be re-evaluated morphologically. The tectonic uplift of the Anatolian Plateau between the African and European plates during the Pliocene period may have probably prevented the presence of Carasobarbus in the west of the Anatolian diagonal.