Sex Influences the Genetic Structure of Greenland Halibut in the North Atlantic
Greenland halibut (<i>Reinhardtius hippoglossoides</i>) is a commercially important species in the North Atlantic whose spatial population structure has not yet been fully determined across its entire range. We genotyped individuals from across the North Atlantic using a subset of informative single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers to assess their usability as a SNP panel. We assessed whether these purportedly structured SNPs had any association with sex. We found several of these loci to be in sex-determining chromosomes and that their inclusion generated genetic structure mainly in males. The population structure without the sex-associated SNPs was weak and followed an isolation-by-distance pattern, likely with a large regional population on each side of the North Atlantic. We discuss how different sex ratios in the samples and/or an evolving sex-determination system in this species likely caused the inclusion of sex-associated loci in the panel. We found suggestive evidence of polymorphisms at sex-determining chromosomes differentiating males on east and west locations, indicating evolution of the sex-determination system. These results highlight the importance of documenting sex-based differences in genetic studies and call for a better understanding of genomic architecture to understand sex-determination systems across the whole distribution of sexually dimorphic species.
Authors
- Jesper Boje (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9034-4605)
- Mikko Vihtakari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0371-4319)
- Ole Thomas Albert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5760-5690)
- Bjarki Þór Elvarsson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5855-1188)
- Jon‐Ivar Westgaard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9627-8124)
- Kevin J. Hedges (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2219-2360)
- Martin Lindegren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9185-951X)
- Margaret A. Treble (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9365-2398)
- Geir Dahle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6070-8073)
- Lise Helen Ofstad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3333-4587)
- Elvar H. Hallfredsson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5501-6638)
- Adriana Nogueira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5777-1362)
- Davíð Gíslason (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8845-6077)
- Denis Roy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4915-9616)
- Laura Wheeland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5936-8083)
- Áki J. Láruson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5394-8805)
- A. Nørlund Christensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4286-7409)
- D.A. García Estévez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5852-8145)
- Torild Johansen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9858-052X)
- Alejandro Mateos Rivera
- Julio Úbeda
Institutions
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada (CA)
- Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (NO)
- Matís (Iceland) (IS)
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (IS)
- Havstovan (FO)
- Grønlands Naturinstitut (GL)
- The FRAM Centre (NO)
- McGill University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Ecology and Evolution
- Published
- 2025-02-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70822
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.63
Funders
- Havforskningsinstituttet
- Nordisk Ministerråd