Genetic population structure of the European anchovy (Engraulis Encrasicolus) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences along the Moroccan coast

The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) is considered to have, in addition to its ecological role, an important economic value, it is regularly targeted by fishers in Morocco. In this study, we investigated the Clade frequencies and population structure of this species using a 682 bp segment of cytochrome b gene. A total of 138 individuals collected from four geographic areas in Morocco were analyzed. The results showed 118 haplotypes and 147 segregating sites (S), of which 59 sites were parsimoniously informative. Higher levels of genetic variation were found for the haplotype diversity h = 0.9868±0.0061, but a concatenated mean nucleotide diversity for all samples was 0.008946±0.004740. The most dominant clade of E. encrasiolus in Morocco was Clade A with a percentage ranging from 89% in Alboran Sea to 95% in the Atlantic coast. Overall, there was a significant genetic differentiation among the 4 Moroccan zones (Φst = 0.01283; p = 0.03910). Pairwise Φst among populations revealed that the most genetic variation occurred between Alboran population and Atlantic populations, mainly when we use the sequences of the dominant clade (Clade A), while the genetic differentiation was low or in moderate level within the Atlantic population. Indeed, the analysis of 160 bp showed a significant genetic differentiation between Moroccan coast and adjacent seas.