Lack of spatial and temporal genetic structure of Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) populations

Japanese eel ( Anguilla japonica ) is an important food source in East Asia whose population has dramatically declined since the 1970s. Despite past analysis with DNA sequencing, microsatellite and isozyme methods, management decisions remain hampered by contradictory findings. For example, it remains unresolved whether Japanese eels are a single panmictic population or whether they harbor significant substructure. Accurate assessment of population genetic substructure, both spatial and temporal, is essential for determining the relevant number of distinct management units appropriate for this species. In the present study, we assayed genetic variation genome-wide using Restriction Site Associated DNA Sequencing (RAD-seq) technology to analyze the population genetic structure of Japanese eels. For analysis of temporal isolation, five “cohort” samples were collected yearly from 2005 to 2009 in the Yangtze River Estuary. For analysis of spatial structure, five “arrival wave” samples were collected in China in 2009, and two arrival wave samples were collected in Japan in 2001. In each cohort of each arrival wave, five individuals were collected for a total of 55 eels sampled. In total, 214,210 loci were identified from these individuals, 106,652 of which satisfied quality checks and were retained for further analysis. There was relatively little population differentiation between arrival waves and cohorts collected either at different locations during the same year ( F st = 0.077) or at the same location collected over subsequent years ( F st = 0.082), and locations displayed no consistent isolation-by-distance.