DNA Fingerprinting of the Freshwater Mud Eel, Monopterus cuchia (Hamilton) by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Marker

Knowledge on genetic structure of a fish species is essential for assessing the genetic status and subsequently implementing programs on conservation of the genetic resources as well as selective improvement. Random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting assay was applied to examine genetic variability in the freshwater mud eel, Monopterus cuchia, a vulnerable species in Bangladesh. Upon testing 40 random decamer primers four primers giving reproducible results were selected and used for generating DNA fingerprints from a total of 51 fish collected from the district of Mymensingh, Bangladesh. A total of 39 loci were scored, 30 of which were found to be polymorphic in nature. The average values of Nei's gene diversity, Shannon's Information Index and band sharing based similarity index were 0.285, 0.423 and 88.33% respectively indicating a substantial level of genetic diversity in the studied samples of the vulnerable species. Due to the scarcity of M. cuchia in Bangladesh only 51 individuals were examined in the study however the PCR-RAPD fingerprinting technique has been found to be suitable for assessing the genetic structure of the freshwater mud eel that could be used as a baseline study for taking any program on conservation and stock improvement of this species.