BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2016, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 359-367

Relationships of Stichaeus nozawae (Jordan et Snyder, 1902) and Stichaeus grigorievi (Herzenstein, 1890) (Pisces: Stichaeidae) inferred from the data of genetic and karyological analyses and ultrastructural study of spermatozoa

© 2016 I. N. Moreva¹, O. A. Radchenko², S. Yu. Neznanova¹, A. V. Petrovskaya², S. A. Borisenko¹

¹A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041;
²Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan 685000

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A complex study, including genetic and karyological approaches, as well as an analysis of the ultrastructural organization of spermatozoa of the Nozawa’s prickleback Stichaeus nozawae (Jordan et Snyder, 1902) and the Grigorev’s prickleback S. grigorievi (Herzenstein, 1890) from Vostok Bay, the Sea of Japan, is considered in the present work. The species exhibit differences in the spermatozoon head width and the flagellum length. These characters are species-specific and, along with morphological traits, can be used as a proof of the validity of the species under study. The similarity between S. nozawae and S. grigorievi, established based on the genetic and karyological analyses (2n = 48, NF = 70, localization of nucleolar organizers), does not correspond to inter-species differences in morphological and biological characters. The lack of variations in the DNA and chromosome set, suitable for species differentiation, between Nozawa’s and Grigorev’s pricklebacks is an evidence for the evolutionary adolescence of these species.

Key words: genus Stichaeus, Sea of Japan, mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA, karyotype, nucleolar organizers, ultrastructural analysis, spermatozoa.