Genetic diversity analyses for population structuring in Channa striata using mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA regions with implication to their conservation in Indian waters

Abstract The snakehead murrel Channa striata , with extensive distribution in Asia, is important in both culture and capture fisheries. Wild sub-populations of C . striata from Indian waters were analyzed in the present study using mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and nuclear microsatellite loci for genetic diversity assessment and sub-population structuring with the expectations that this fish have resulted in isolated sub-populations. A total of 191 specimens were collected for the study from eight distinctly located rivers from India. The cyt b analyses showed moderate to high, while microsatellites indicated low to moderate levels of inter-sub-populations' diversity. Tapti sub-population showed high level of genetic variation in cyt b analyses but low in SSRs, with a recent bottleneck. Betwa sub-population showed minimum haplotype variation, while Brahmaputra exhibited minimum expected heterozygosity at all the loci. Cyt b gene revealed 45 polymorphic sites with overall nucleotide diversity 0.00924 and haplotype diversity 0.9301. In phylogenetic analysis and haplotypes network, Chaliyar population appeared in different lineage. Chaliyar sub-population revealed maximum mean private alleles for microsatellite loci, while Tapti showed one private allele and Brahmaputra without private allele. The results indicate a gradual loss in number of private alleles within the species, which might be a concern for its conservation in the future.