Population Structure of Indian Hill Trout (Barilius bendelisis) Inferred from Variation in Mitochondrial Dna Sequences

Barilius bendelisis is an important food fish and a demanding ornamental species in India. Despite its great economic importance, several wild populations have been suffering drastic reduction. The genetic variability within population is extremely useful for gathering information on individual’s identity, breeding patterns, degree of relatedness and disturbance of genetic variation among them. In order to understand the genetic structure of three populations of Barilius bendelisis, sequences of mitochondrial gene, cytochrome b (307 bp) from three wild populations were sequenced and analysed. A total of 17 polymorphic sites and 14 parsimony informative sites were detected in cytochrome b gene (307bp) sequences in all three populations. The nucleotide diversity was 0.0237 between Saryu and Kosi river populations, 0.01831 between Saryu and Kalsa river populations and 0.01346 between Kosi and Kalsa river populations. The eight different haplotypes were detected among the three populations studied, single population specific haplotype was observed in Kosi river population. UPGMA dendrogram based on cytochrome b gene sequences of B. bendelisis shows that the Kosi river population make cluster with Kalsa river population rather than the Saryu river population. The genetic distance was 0.04 between Saryu and Kosi river population, 0.03 between Saryu and Kalsa river population and 0.02 between Kosi and Kalsa river population. The cytochrome b gene sequences revealed high level of genetic differentiation within and between populations of B. bendelisis and demonstrated the suitability of partial Cytochrome b gene (307 bp) sequence in determining the genetic diversity in B. bendelisis populations.