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. 2024 Feb 6;19(2):e0293345.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293345. eCollection 2024.

DNA barcoding for the assessment of marine and coastal fish diversity from the Coast of Mozambique

Valdemiro Muhala  1   2 , Aurycéia Guimarães-Costa  1 , Isadola Eusébio Macate  1   3 , Luan Pinto Rabelo  1 , Adam Rick Bessa-Silva  1 , Luciana Watanabe  1 , Gisele Damasceno Dos Santos  1 , Luísa Sambora  4 , Marcelo Vallinoto  1 , Iracilda Sampaio  1
Affiliations

DNA barcoding for the assessment of marine and coastal fish diversity from the Coast of Mozambique

Valdemiro Muhala et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The ichthyological provinces of Mozambique are understudied hotspots of global fish diversity. In this study, we applied DNA barcoding to identify the composition of the fish fauna from the coast of Mozambique. A total of 143 species belonging to 104 genera, 59 families, and 30 orders were identified. The overall K2P distance of the COI sequences within species ranged from 0.00% to 1.51%, while interspecific distances ranged from 3.64% to 24.49%. Moreover, the study revealed 15 threatened species according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with elasmobranchs being the most represented group. Additionally, the study also uncovered four new species that were not previously recorded in this geographic area, including Boleophthalmus dussumieri, Maculabatis gerrardi, Hippocampus kelloggi, and Lethrinus miniatus. This study represents the first instance of utilizing molecular references to explore the fish fauna along the Mozambican coast. Our results indicate that DNA barcoding is a dependable technique for the identification and delineation of fish species in the waters of Mozambique. The DNA barcoding library established in this research will be an invaluable asset for advancing the understanding of fish diversity and guiding future conservation initiatives.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Map of sample origin areas.
All the yellow dots correspond to the total areas collected along the coast. The points marked with A to E Are Specific illustrations of the different sampling areas.
Fig 2
Fig 2. NJ tree illustrating the relationships among Mozambican fish species based on DNA barcode sequences.
The NJ tree includes both teleost and elasmobranch fish species, constructed using K2P distances from 400 pb barcode sequences (COI). Bootstrap support values are represented by dots at the nodes. Images credits are given to i-iii, vii, xii—(Pollerspöck, J. & Straube, N. 2022, www.shark-references.com; iv - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12526-021-01208-6; v—Infofish Austrália; vi–FishBase; viii-https://indiabiodiversity.org/; ix-FishBase; xi - https://fishesofaustralia.net.au; xiii - https://www.fishesoftexas.org/; xiv -https://animaldiversity.org/; xv - https://fishider.org; xvi - https://fishesofaustralia.net.au.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Barcoding gap: Maximum intraspecific Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) distances compared with the minimum interspecific K2P distances recorded in fish species from the coast of Mozambique.
The graphs show the overlap of the maximum and mean intra-specific distances with the inter-specific (NN = nearest neighbour) distances.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

This research was financed by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) through a research project 407536/2021-3, 309916/2021-6 and the APC was funded by Pro-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação of the Universidade Federal do Pará. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.