Randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs-polymerase chain reaction analysis of two different populations of cultured Korean catfish Silurus asotus

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs-polymerase chain reaction analysis of two different populations of cultured Korean catfish Silurus asotus

Genetic similarity and diversity of cultured catfish Silums asotus, populations collected from two areas in western Korea were examined using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) Out of 20 random primers tested, 5 produced 1344 total RAPD bands, ranging from 8.2 to 13.6 polymorphic bands per primer. The polymorphic bands in these populations ranged from 56.4% to 59.6%. Polymorphic bands per lane within populations ranged from 4.9% to 5.3%. The similarity degree within Kunsan population varied from 0.39 to 0.82 with a mean (± SD) of 0.56:1: 0.08. The level of band sharing values was 0.59±0.07 within the catfish population from Yesan. The genetic similarity in cultured catfish populations may have been caused because individuals from two populations were reared in the same environmental conditions or by inbreeding during several generations. However, in view of bandsharing values, polymorphic bands and also the specific major bands that were inter-population-specific, significant genetic differentiation between these populations were present even if bandsharing (8S) values were somewhat numerically different. Therefore, the number of RAPD polymorph isms identified in this study may be sufficient to permit for estimating genetic similarity and diversity. However, in future, additional populations, sampling sites and individuals will be necessary to make up for these weak points.