Biochemical Systematics of Pupfishes

俄克拉荷马州州立大学的安东尼和爱丽丝·埃歇尔博士 将使用生物化学数据来研究 北美淡水鳉鱼的一种。 该集团包括 鲤科鱼类35种， 相关鱼类的属（每属1-2种）。 工作强调 利用电泳分析的蛋白质变异， 描述了属之间和属与属之间的亲缘关系， 22种“内陆”的鳉鱼，其次是使用 线粒体DNA变异来描述一个 死亡谷鱼和它们的 最近的亲戚。 Pupfishes构成了最多样化的鱼类群体在 北美三大温暖沙漠：莫哈维、索诺兰和 吉娃娃 众多的沙漠生活的鳉鱼种类， 它们所居住的沙漠是在相对较近的时间里发展起来的 地质时间 因此，系统发育关系的知识 应该可以提供相当多的洞察力， 美国西南部和墨西哥北方的地理学。 这些鳉鱼也提供了一个不寻常的机会来测试 不同的物种形成模式。 一些鱼和一个 相关的Meguptrophe属的物种受到威胁， 可能在不久的将来灭绝。 的一项成果 拟议的工作是生产冷冻组织， 未来的生物化学工作

Drs. Anthony and Alice Echelle of Oklahoma State University will use biochemical data to study the evolutionary relationships of the freshwater pupfishes of North America. The group includes the pupfishes of the genus Cyprinodon (35 species) and five small genera (1-2 species each) of related fishes. The work emphasizes the use of protein variation analyzed by electrophoresis to describe genealogical relatedness among the genera and among the 22 "inland" species of pupfish, followed by the use of mitochondrial DNA variation to describe relationships within a small subset of species, the Death Valley pupfishes and their nearest relatives. Pupfishes constitute the most diverse group of fishes in the three major warm deserts of North America: Mohave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan. The numerous desert-dwelling pupfish species and the deserts they inhabit have developed in relatively recent geological time. Thus, knowledge of phylogenetic relationships among pupfishes should provide considerable insight into the biogeography of southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The pupfishes also provide an unusual opportunity to test different modes of speciation. A number of pupfishes and the one species of the related genus Megupsilon are threatened with probable extinction in the near future. One outcome of the proposed work is to produce frozen collections of tissues for future biochemical work.