Genetic diversity in wild and hatchery populations of stinging catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis Bloch) revealed by RAPD analysis

Abstract

Context: DNA fingerprinting using genetic markers such as Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), microsatellite (Simple sequence repeat), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) etc. can be successfully used to reveal genetic variation within and among different populations.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess genetic diversity in two wild and one hatchery populations of stinging catfish Heteropneustes fossilis by RAPD fingerprinting.

Materials and Methods: A total of 90 live fish (H. fossilis), 30 from each source, were collected from a beel in Patuakhali, a beel in Jessore and Rupali Hatchery, Mymensingh. Genomic DNA was extracted from fin tissues. The concentration of DNA was estimated using a spectrophotometer. Fifteen decamer primers of random sequence from three kits (six from kit A, seven from kit B and two from kit C) (Operon technologies, Inc., Alameda, CA, USA) were screened on sub-samples of one randomly chosen H. fossilis DNA sample from the each population to test their suitability for amplifying RAPDs. The amplified products from each sample were separated by electrophoresis on 1.4% agarose gel containing ethidium bromide. The sizes of the bands were calculated using the software DNAFRAG and the sizes in base pair (bp) were used for identification of the bands (RAPD markers). The similarity index values (SI) between the RAPD fingerprint of any two individuals on the same gel were calculated from RAPD band sharing.

Results: A total of 28 RAPD bands were obtained using four decamer random primers, among which 21 bands were polymorphic. The percentage of polymorphic loci, intra-population similarity indices and Nei's gene diversity values were 85.71%, 78.75 and 0.304±0.183 for Jessore population, 83.71%, 82.62 and 0.280±0.159 for Patuakhali population, 82.14%, 85.25 and 0.271±0.165 for Rupali hatchery population, respectively. The overall gene flow (N_m) among the populations was 5.755. The highest inter-similarity (S_ij) was found between Patuakhali - Rupali hatchery populations. Among the three populations, the highest genetic distance (0.069) was found between Jessore and Patuakhali population. Considering polymorphic loci, intrapopulation similarity index and gene diversity the genetic variation in the Jessore population was higher than the other two populations. The genetic variation of the hatchery population was found to be lower than the two wild populations.

Conclusion: The result of the present study can be used as baseline information regarding the genetic variation and population structure before undertaking any breeding programme. Study indicated that the genetic variation in the hatchery populations were slightly lower than those of the wild populations.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbs.v19i0.13005

J. bio-sci. 19 81-87, 2011