Evolutionary relationships within genus Barbus (Cyprinidae) with emphasis on Greece, and biogeography of Greek lineages

Evolutionary relationships between Barbus species have been already studied in the past, but most of the studies were based only on mitochondrial DNA, there is no detailed study based on nuclear markers. This is mainly due to the fact that Barbus species are tetraploid. The western part of Greece has been studied insufficiently, and moreover a greater diversity of freshwater ichthyofauna is expected here. Greece is one of the hotspots of biodiversity. Greek river system is characterized by a significant proportion of endemic species of freshwater fishes. In this work evolutionary relationships between Barbus species were studied, with focus on diversity of Greek lineages. The geographical distribution of Barbus species has been also revised. In total, 192 individuals were analyzed, 156 individuals were from 40 Greek localities and another 36 Barbus species were from other areas of distribution of the genus. Dataset was supplemented with avaible published sequences. For the phylogenetic analysis mitochondrial gene cytochrom b, 1st intron of ribosomal protein gene S7 and 2nd intron of gene beta-actin were used. For both nuclear markers paralog-specific primers were used. The analysis of cytochrom b revealed several well-supported lines: 1. species of southwestern Mediterranean (B. meridionalis and B...