Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Marine Shrimp Systems

Marine shrimp populations exhibit complex patterns of genetic variation shaped by life-history traits, oceanographic processes and human activities. Genetic diversity underpins resilience to environmental change, disease outbreaks and harvesting pressure, while population structure reflects barriers to dispersal, such as ocean fronts, depth gradients and larval behaviour. In penaeid species like Litopenaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon, high connectivity driven by planktonic larvae contrasts with pronounced local differentiation when aquaculture selection or environmental heterogeneity reduces gene flow. In deep-water aristeid shrimps such as Aristeus antennatus, genetic markers reveal both temporal stability and fine-scale spatial structuring, indicating a metapopulation organisation in which unexploited deep stocks provide a “rescue effect” for shallower, fished grounds. Advances in whole-genome sequencing, microsatellite analysis and high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels have refined estimates of heterozygosity, fixation indices and effective population size. Together, these insights inform sustainable fisheries management, stock delineation and selective-breeding programmes, with global implications for food security and biodiversity conservation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have employed multilocus microsatellite assays to map genetic stocks of the deep-sea shrimp Aristeus antennatus across the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions. Analysis of twelve loci has identified at least four distinct genetic units, with high gene flow within basins and evidence for an additional subdivision near the Alborán Sea. Effective population sizes remain large, but moderate levels of heterozygosity call for cautious management approaches tailored to each stock’s connectivity.
Follow-up work on temporal samples from principal Western Mediterranean fishing grounds has demonstrated overall genetic stability over consecutive years. Minor allele-frequency shifts at specific sites coincide with seasonal oceanographic features, yet larval dispersal via prevailing currents maintains homogeneity. These findings support a single biological unit in the Western basin and establish a baseline for regionally coordinated management plans.

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Marine Shrimp Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in genetic diversity and population structure in marine shrimp systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Genetic diversity: The total variation in DNA sequences among individuals within a population, vital for adaptive potential.
Population structure: The non-random distribution of genetic variation across geographic or ecological subdivisions.
Microsatellite loci: Short tandem repeat sequences used as highly polymorphic markers for genotyping.
Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): A single base-pair variation in the genome, serving as a dense marker for diversity and selection studies.
Fixation index (FST): A measure of genetic differentiation between populations, with values from 0 (panmixia) to 1 (complete separation).
Effective population size: The number of breeding individuals contributing to the next generation, influencing genetic drift and diversity maintenance.

References

1. Genetic structure and population connectivity of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus. Scientific Reports (2019).
2. Genetic analyses reveal temporal stability and connectivity pattern in blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus populations. Scientific Reports (2020).
3. Comparative Study of Nutritional Composition, Physiological Indicators, and Genetic Diversity in Litopenaeus vannamei from Different Aquaculture Populations. Biology (2024).
4. Fine-scale population structure and evidence for local adaptation in Australian giant black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) using SNP analysis. BMC Genomics (2020).
5. Population Genetic History of Aristeus antennatus (Crustacea: Decapoda) in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea. PLOS ONE (2015).