COI gene sequencing reveals genetic population structuring and a separate lineage of the green tiger prawn

The green tiger prawn Penaeus semisulcatus is one of the major commercial trawl crustaceans in the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean. Herein, we aimed to assess its genetic diversity and phylogeographic criteria in the North West (NW) of the Red Sea. Prawn samples were collected from the Bitter Lakes; the North; and the South of the Gulf of Suez in Egypt. The hypervariable, 5´ barcode area of the Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was PCR-amplified and sequenced in all samples. The resulting sequences were subjected to several genetic, phylogenetic, and population genetics' analyses. Consequently, clear signs of genetic populations’ diversity, expansion; and possible structuring were identified in different areas in the NW Red Sea. Furthermore, extremely discordant genetic connectivity was found between the populations around the Arabian Plate (i.e. of the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz) and the IndoWest Pacific, resulting in characterizing the Arabian plate populations as a separate lineage of P. semisulcatus. Based on these findings, it is important to investigate whether there are other discriminative genomic, morphological and/or morphometric differences among the genetically identified lineages and populations. Consequently, differential conservational strategies of different populations of this species should be applied in the studied areas