In the last decade, the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Triplophysa have become controversial, due to a lack of molecular data. The mitochondrial genome plays a vital role in the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships and in revealing the molecular evolution of bony fishes. Herein, we obtained the complete mitogenome of Triplophysa bombifrons via HiFi reads of the Pacbio Sequel II system and DNBSEQ short-reads. We compared all available mitogenomes of the Triplophysa genus and reconstructed the phylogeny of Nemacheilidae, based on the mitogenomes, using maximum likelihood (ML) methods. The results show that the complete mitogenome sequence of T. bombifrons was circular and 16,568 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA), 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and a typical control region (D-loop). The most common start codons were ATG, except for cox1, and TAA/TAG were the stop codons for all PCGs. In total, 677 SNPs and 9 INDELs have been found by comparing the sequence divergence between this study and previous reports. Purity selection was found in all PCGs. Phylogeny was inferred by analyzing the 13 PCGs and the concatenated nucleotide sequences of 30 mitogenomes. The phylogenetic analyses based on the nucleotides of the 13 PCGs supported the assumption that the Triplophysa genus can be divided into 4 main clades and demonstrated that T. bombifrons and T. tenuis are closely related species for the first time. This study laid the foundation for further study on the mitogenome and phylogeny of Nemacheilidae fishes.

Little is known about how changes in the biodiversity and functional traits of macroinvertebrates in rivers respond to the responses of anthropic pressures and their driving factors. Macroinvertebrates were sampled at 17 sites in the Irtysh River Basin and classified macroinvertebrates into 10 traits and 38 categories between May and August 2022. Then, we performed R-mode linked to Q-mode (RLQ) analysis and calculated functional richness, evenness, divergence, and Rao’s quadratic entropy (RaoQ) for each site and community-weighted means for each trait category. Our results indicated that there were pronounced alterations in species variability in the urban region. Functional divergence indicated fierce competition among species and considerable niche overlap in the urban region. Functional evenness indicated that species abundance distribution and interspecific functional distance were not uniform in the urban region. Functional richness indicated that the urban region was the strongest region in terms of niche occupation, resource utilization, and buffering capacity for environmental fluctuations. Rao’s quadratic entropy showed that the trait difference of macroinvertebrates was the largest in all regions, which was caused by the gradient environmental difference. Research has revealed that urbanization significantly influences the evolutionary trajectory of macroinvertebrate fauna, culminating in an upsurge in pollution-tolerant species and a convergence of functional traits. We recommend strengthening the control of urban and industrial pollution and wise planning and management of land and water resources to mitigate the impact of anthropogenic destruction on habitat fragmentation in the Irtysh River Basin.

In order to resolve the long-standing controversy surrounding the relationships within the Triplophysa genus, we conducted an extensive analysis of the complete mitogenome of Triplophysa labiata using DNBSEQ short reads. Additionally, we reconstructed the phylogeny of the Nemacheilidae family using mitogenome data. By comparing all available mitogenomes within the Triplophysa genus, we gained valuable insights into its evolutionary history. Our findings revealed that the mitogenome sequence of T. labiata is circular, spanning a length of 16,573 bp. It encompasses 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and a control region (D-loop). Among the PCGs, the start codon ATG was commonly observed, except in cox1, while the stop codons TAA/TAG/T were found in all PCGs. Furthermore, purifying selection was evident across all PCGs. Utilizing maximum likelihood (ML) methods, we employed the 13 PCGs and the concatenated nucleotide sequences of 30 Triplophysa mitogenomes to infer the phylogeny. Our results strongly supported the division of the Triplophysa genus into four primary clades. Notably, our study provides the first evidence of the close relationship between T. labiata and T. dorsalis. These findings serve as a significant foundation for future investigations into the mitogenomics and phylogeny of Nemacheilidae fishes, paving the way for further advancements in this field of research.

The age, growth, and reproduction of Schizothorax pseudaksaiensis (Herzenstein, 1889), a second-level key protected aquatic species in Xinjiang, were studied using fish ecology methods, and the biological characteristics of its population are discussed. A total of 735 specimens were collected on a seasonal basis from 2021 to 2022 using cages and nets in the Turks River. The fish length ranged from 47.30 mm to 538.60 mm, and the minimum age and maximum age were 1 years old and 23 years old, respectively. The fitting correlations revealed that S. pseudaksaiensis is a uniformly growing fish. The ages at the inflection point for S. pseudaksaiensis were 22.28 (female) and 19.55 (male). The sex ratio was 0.89 (females):1 (males), and the spawning period occurred from April to July. The absolute fecundity was 55,652.01 ± 25,468.78 eggs per individual, and the relative fecundity was 25.92 ± 10.69 eggs per gram. This study provides life history trait data for S. pseudaksaiensis and has theoretical and practical importance for maintaining population dynamics and fishery ecological balance. Additionally, a basis for the protection of fishery germplasm plateau resources is provided.

Hedinichthys yarkandensis (Day, 1877) has been highlighted in research and evaluated as a class II key protected aquatic wildlife in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. To enhance the study of fish resources in the Hotan River, further germplasm conservation of fishery resources specific to the Tarim River Basin should be carried out, and the development of the aquatic seed industry should be promoted. A total of 1275 H. yarkandensis individuals were collected from 2020–2021. Fish ecological methods were used to explore the population ecological characteristics and ecological habits of H. yarkandensis. We found that the age of H. yarkandensis ranged from one to seven based on lapillus otoliths, and two-plus individuals accounted for more. The age structure composition reveals stable genetic performance and good population fecundity. The fitting correlations of standard length and body weight reveal that H. yarkandensis in the Hotan River is a uniformly growing fish. The ratio of females to males is 0.87:1. The Fulton condition index of males was slightly higher than that of females due to individual miniaturization. The comparative study found that the growth parameters of the Hotan River population (L_∞ = 302.772, W_∞ = 310.8450, t₀ = −0.4608) were higher than those of the other groups. The feeding demand of H. yarkandensis in the Hotan River was guaranteed because the effect of human activities was small in the watershed area and the watershed ecosystem was more stable, which resulted in stable germplasm resources in the Hotan River population.

To understand the adaptive evolution of endangered plateau freshwater fishes to environmental stress and to better explore the underlying mechanisms in Aspiorhynchus laticeps—a critically endangered fish endemic to the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China—a combination of ecological experiments and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) technology was used to study the differences in gene expression patterns among individuals under different salinities and flow conditions. This experiment included four treatment groups (CON, H-SA-S, L-SA, L-SA-S). A. laticeps specimens with an average weight of 2.92 ± 0.62 g and a body length of 58.22 ± 5.10 mm were selected, with three biological replicates for a 96 h combined stress treatment. Moreover, the relationships between these differences and the aquatic environment were analyzed. A total of 1847 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 935 upregulated genes and 912 downregulated genes, were identified under different aquatic environment stress modes. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that TNF signal transduction, the NF-κB pathway, and metabolic regulation were significantly enriched among the DEGs (p < 0.05). High salinity–alkali stress significantly activates the TNF/NF-κB pathway, regulates MST1, LOC107702867, LOC113110979 and other genes to enhance the body’s resistance; water flow changes mainly regulate energy metabolism through genes such as NEHOM01_1600 and gptl. These findings provide an important scientific basis for the ecological adaptability, protection, and proliferation of endemic and endangered fish in China, as well as for germplasm innovation to address ecological deterioration in plateau fishes in alpine and arid areas. This study provides a molecular-level theoretical foundation for artificial habitat regulation and the conservation of endangered Aspiorhynchus laticeps populations in the Tarim River.