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Abstract Cyprus, facing climate change and desertification, has Europe’s second highest population growth. Halloumi cheese’s Protected Designation of Origin status boosted goat and sheep milk demand. Optimizing primary sector production is key to balancing food production and environmental sustainability. The present study aims to explore the genetic diversity and population structure of Cyprus Chios sheep, as well as the impact of existing breeding nuclei on the breed’s gene pool. Two breeding nuclei aiming to preserve genetic diversity and boost local milk production and four private farms were sampled. Genome-wide data using Illumina 50 K arrays were generated, analyzing over 1000 animals from six farms. At least three distinct genetic groups were identified, two of which are represented by the nuclei’s distinct genetic profiles and a third was found in private farms. Calculated metrics indicate a negative correlation of gene flow with geographic distance in case of the Eastern nucleus. Presented results support recent, though limited inbreeding (mean FROH=0.046), compared to other commercial breeds. Estimated effective population size reveals a stabilizing trend to a relatively high number (Ne ~ 200) which indicates relatively high diversity that allows further genetic improvement. Revealed genomic diversity highlights the necessity of such exploration before effectively implementing genomic evaluation programs.

Accounting more than 3,700 described species, Oniscidea is the largest and at the same time the only terrestrial isopod suborder inhabiting almost all terrestrial biomes. Despite the great effort dedicated on describing taxonomic diversity of Oniscidea, mainly employing morphology, there is still a considerable number of species/genera of uncertain generic/familiar assignment. Based on different morphological characters, alternative evolutionary relationships have been proposed to describe the diversity of Oniscidea at different phylogenetic levels. Accumulating morphological and genetic data are repeatedly challenging the monophyly of established taxa, undermining the validity of several morphological characters traditionally used in terrestrial isopod taxonomy, leading to often revisions of the current taxonomy of the Oniscidea . The use of genetic data facilitates the efforts to reconstruct the complex evolutionary history of the focal group by providing important data for the identification, delimitation, and description of species. The proposed protocol with universal PCR conditions and primers was used to successfully amplify COI, 16S, 28S and NAK loci in diverse Oniscidea taxa. The application of this protocol is anticipated to facilitate the generation of new genetic data and hence promote scientific research in Isopoda taxonomy, evolution, ecology, and other related fields.

Porcellionidae is one of the richest families of Oniscidea globally distributed but we still lack a comprehensive and robust phylogeny of the taxa that are assigned to it. Employing five genetic markers (two mitochondrial and three nuclear) we inferred phylogenetic relationships among the majority of Porcellionidae genera. Phylogenetic analyses conducted via Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference resulted in similar tree topologies. The mtDNA genes cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and 16s rRNA (16s) were used for clade dating using previously published mutation rates. Our results provide evidence against the monophyly of both Porcellionidae and the largest genus of the family Porcellio. These results are compared to previous published work based on morphological evidence. The genera Leptotrichus and Brevurus are not grouped with the rest of Porcellionidae whereas Agnaridae are grouped with part of Porcellionidae. Armadillidium and Schizidium (Armadillidiidae) occupy a basal position on the phylogenetic tree. Even though the African genera Tura and Uramba (distributed in East Africa) are grouped together there is no general geographical pattern in other sub-clades. Additional taxonomic issues that arise in this work such as the assignment of the recently described genus Levantoniscus, arealso discussed. The status of Porcellionidae should be further revised and morphological characters traditionally used in Oniscidea taxonomy should be reconsidered in view of molecular evidence. The origin of the monophyletic clade within Porcellionidae as indicated in the present work is dated back to the Oligocene (~32 mya).

Widespread reports over the last six years confirm the establishment of lionfish (Pterois miles) populations in the eastern Mediterranean. Accumulated knowledge on lionfish invasions in the western Atlantic Ocean has shown that it is a successful invader and can have negative impacts on native species, indirect ecological repercussions and economic effects on local human societies. Here we analysed genetic sequences of lionfish from Cyprus as well as data from the whole distribution of the species, targeting the mtDNA markers cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and the control region (CR). Our results reflect a pattern of repeated introductions into the Mediterranean from the northern Red Sea and a secondary spread of this species west to Rhodes and Sicily. Presented results agree with previously published studies highlighting the genetic similarity with individuals from the northern Red Sea. Nevertheless, some individuals from Cyprus, in addition to those coming via the Suez Canal, were genetically similar to fish from the Indian Ocean, indicating genetic homogeneity among populations of P. miles across its current distribution, possibly facilitated by the ornamental fish trade and/or transport through ballast water.