Genetic diversity patterns of lionfish in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean

<strong>The present study applied genetic markers to describe the early stages of the lionfish bioinvasion of the equatorial Southwestern Atlantic and the Brazilian coast, to determine the origin and diversity of the invading fish, and potential dispersal routes, as well as to help in the management of this ongoing bioinvasion. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers were sequenced in invasive lionfish specimens from the Brazilian coast and compared with <em>Pterois</em> spp. sequences available from the public NCBI and BOLD databases for identification purposes and to better elucidate the invasion and establishment of lionfish in the Southwestern Atlantic.</strong>本研究采用遗传标记技术，对南大西洋赤道西部海域及巴西沿岸的蓑鲉生物入侵早期进程进行系统刻画，旨在明确入侵蓑鲉的起源与种群多样性、潜在扩散路径，并为这场持续发生的生物入侵的防控管理提供科学支持。研究人员对采自巴西沿岸的入侵蓑鲉标本开展线粒体DNA标记与核DNA标记测序，并将所得序列与公共数据库NCBI及BOLD中公开的蓑鲉属（Pterois）物种序列进行比对，以实现精准物种鉴定，并进一步阐明蓑鲉在南大西洋西部的入侵与定殖机制。