Forensic investigations into a GenBank anomaly: endangered taxa and the importance of voucher specimens in molecular studies

Abstract

Whole mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequences provide a powerful approach for investigating and hypothesizing relationships at a broad range of phylogenetic levels, and these data have been used extensively across the diversity of fishes. Mitogenome sequence studies have typically used an exemplar approach wherein one individual is sampled and sequenced. However, as more laboratories are producing these data, taxon sampling within clades, including within-species sampling, is naturally increasing. There are currently eleven acipenserids with complete mitogenome sequences available for download and use from GenBank. Exploration of these sequences indicates that the mitogenome for Acipenser sinensis, the Chinese sturgeon, may either be incorrectly identified or the result of undocumented hybridization with A. gueldenstaedtii. Recently, new material with vouchered specimens has been collected and investigated with DNA sequence data from four mtDNA loci to test whether the published mitogenome of A. sinensis was recovered in the same clade with the new vouchered material. This example reinforces the need for voucher specimens and materials for genetic sequence data.