Detection of Genetic Variation and Genetic Diversity in Two Indian Mudskipper Species (Boleophthalmus boddarti, B. dussumieri) using RAPD Marker

Due to the environmental changes and habitat destruction the mudskipper fish population is decreasing in recent years. To predict the fish population structure, frequent manual survey and molecular methods are widely used. Molecular markers such as RAPD, microsatellite, allozyme, D-loop haplotype are frequently adopted to assess the population structure of an organism. In this study ten- arbitrary primers were screened to estimate the genetic relationships and diversity of two mudskipper species (Boleophthalmus boddarti and B. dussumieri) in Vellar estuary, Tamilnadu, India. By this RAPD marker study, the genetic diversity (H) in B. boddarti was more (0.0116 ± 0.0066) than in B. dussumieri (0.0056 ± 0.0024) in Vellar estuary (India). The genetic distance between B. boddarti and B. dussumieri was 1.7943. By observing the species specific bands and the phylogenetic analysis it is revealed that these two species clearly deviated into separate clusters emphasizing the distinct species status.