Lack of genetic differentiation of Kawakawa Euthynnus affinis (Cantor, 1849) in Peninsular Malaysia based on mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I

Abstract Kawakawa Euthynnus affinis is a cosmopolitan epipelagic tuna and regarded as one of the most commercially important tunas in subtropical tropical waters Indo-Pacific region. Regrettably, lack information on stock structure management conservation E. populations Malaysian could result overfishing perhaps decreasing this marine fish. Thus, for an effective successful species, assessment based molecular knowledge essential. In current research, genetic differentiation was assessed utilizing sequence analyses mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. A 632 bp segment COI region sequenced 114 individuals sampled from two central geographic regions; Straits Malacca (M), South China Sea (SCS). The results revealed that distance within between seven Peninsular Malaysia extremely low. overall mean haplotype diversity (Hd) 0.6942, while average nucleotide (π) 0.0011. neighbor-joining (NJ) tree samples collected were clustered into clade. outcomes study will provide valuable baseline proper neritic waters.