Abstract:
Turbot is a valuable commercial fish species classified as endangered. Knowledge of the level and distribution of genetic diversity in turbot is important for designing conservation strategies for their sustainable survival and to preserve their evolutionary potential. Mitochondrial control region sequences were investigated to evaluate variability in population genetic structure of one population along the northern Black Sea coast. 19 CR haplotypes were found in the Shabla population, which were shared with turbot haplotypes, previously described for the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. A pattern with a high level of haplotype diversity (h = 0.954 ± 0.022) and a very low level of nucleotide diversity (π = 0.00563 ± 0.00063) indicated a high number of closely related haplotypes and suggested that this population may have undergone a recent expansion. Tajima’s D test and Fu’s FS test both suggest recent population growth. The haplotypes found in the Shablа population were typical for the north Black Sea populations and could be used for distinguishing the population along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.