Comparative population genetics of the Antarctic grenadier fish (Macrourus whitsoni) and its parasitic copepod (Lophoura szidati).

Abstract

Large ectoparasitic copepods, nearly as long as the length of their host, are often found on Antarctic fish, yet little is known about their biology. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure and host-parasite relationships in Macrourus whitsoni, a deep-sea fish, and its copepod ectoparasite, Lophoura szidati, using 10,569 biallelic SNPs collected from 38 copepods and 5,009 biallelic SNPs from 35 fish individuals across three populations in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. The Fst, DAPC, and admixture analyses revealed distinct genetic patterns between the two species. For M. whitsoni, our results demonstrated low to moderate genetic differentiation among populations, while L. szidati exhibited strong population structure. Nucleotide diversity (π) differed significantly among both fish host and copepod parasite populations, reflecting contrasting patterns of genetic variation. Tajima's D values were consistently negative in both hosts and parasites, indicating an excess of rare alleles, which suggests recent population expansion or purifying selection. Analysis of host-parasite coevolution revealed both congruent and discordant patterns. While some host-parasite pairs showed strong congruence, suggesting possible specialized coevolutionary relationships, other associations showed signs of discordance, suggesting host-switching events or ecological divergence. The contrasting genetic patterns and coevolutionary dynamics in our study open new directions for future research to show how life history traits, dispersal capacity, and environmental factors influence the biology and evolution of host-parasite species in the unique and extreme Ross Sea.