Barcoding of fresh water fishes from Pakistan

Abstract

DNA bar-coding is a taxonomic method that uses small genetic markers in organisms’ mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) for identification of particular species. It uses sequence diversity in a 658-base pair fragment near the 5′ end of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene as a tool for species identification. DNA barcoding is more accurate and reliable method as compared with the morphological identification. It is equally useful in juveniles as well as adult stages of fishes. The present study was conducted to identify three farm fish species of Pakistan (Cyprinus carpio, Cirrhinus mrigala, and Ctenopharyngodon idella) genetically. All of them belonged to family cyprinidae. CO1 gene was amplified. PCR products were sequenced and analyzed by bioinformatic software. Conspecific, congenric, and confamilial k2P nucleotide divergence was estimated. From these findings, it was concluded that the gene sequence, CO1, may serve as milestone for the identification of related species at molecular level.

• Cyprinus carpio
• Cirrhinus mrigala
• Ctenopharyngodon idella
• DNA barcoding

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Dr. Khalid Pervez Lone, in-charge Resource Lab., University of Health Sciences for providing full lab facilities for present experimental work.

Declaration of interest

The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.