Neutral or Non-neutral: A Case Study of the Microsatellite Loci Used in Apostichopus Japonicus Population-genetic Analysis for its Monitoring and Conservation

• Viktoriia D. Yagodina ^[1] ; Evgeniia I. Bondar ^[2] ; Vladimir A. Brykov ^[2]
  1. [1] Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of Aquatic Organisms, Institute of World Ocean, Far Eastern Federal University, Russky Island, Vladivostok, Russia
  2. [2] A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia
• Localización: Thalassas: An international journal of marine sciences, ISSN 0212-5919, Vol. 42, Nº. 1, 2026
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Genetic variability not associated with adaptations is used to evaluate the neutral populational and demographical effects. Microsatellites are one of the most popular molecular markers used to study these processes, but the neutrality of the particular locus is rarely examined. In the present study, we determined the localization of four microsatellite loci based on the sequencing analysis of the complete genome of Apostichopus japonicus and studied their deviation from neutrality using different statistical approaches. The analysis revealed that statistical tests might not detect deviations from neutrality, especially in marine farm populations. However, a search of the microsatellite sequences in the genome identified one of the studied loci within the protein-coding sequence of the possible gene AF4/FMR2 family member 4, which belongs to the super elongation complex and activates transcription, specifically during heat stress. Localization of such sequences in the genome will allow rapid analysis of abiotic factors affecting natural and artificial populations. This information can subsequently be used in genetic monitoring of this important commercial species, whose populations have suffered greatly from uncontrolled fishing in recent decades