Sex-Linked Differentiation in Commercially Exploited Fishes: Rethinking Population Structure in Dynamic Marine Environments.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how genomic structure links with ecological and evolutionary processes is critical for forecasting species responses to dynamic marine environments, especially in commercially exploited marine species, where fishing pressure can impact genomic integrity. Here we investigate Merluccius paradoxus, a commercially exploited demersal fish that appears to be undergoing a range expansion along the southern African coastline. Using whole-genome sequence data of individuals from across the species' distribution (n = 37), we reveal that sex-linked divergence, rather than geography, is the principal driver of genomic variation, challenging conventional assumptions of regional geographic population structure. Divergence was concentrated on autosomal regions (primarily large regions on Ch

SUBMITTER: Gardiner CEC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12551363 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature