Genetic divergence in wild population of endangered yellowtail catfish Pangasius pangasius (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) revealed by mtDNA.

Pangasius pangasius, an endangered freshwater fish species, is an important component of capture fishery from Indian rivers. Samples collected through commercial catches from three riverine populations were analyzed with cytb (307 bp) and ATPase6&8 (842 bp) regions for population variation and differentiation. The sequences of the both the mitochondrial regions revealed high haplotype and low nucleotide diversity. Shallow genetic diversity based on ATPase6&8 was observed, however its haplotypes network clearly indicated two distinct mitochondrial lineages. Mismatch distribution suggested population bottlenecks followed by expansion in Mahanadi population. The present study indicated the ATPase6&8 to be a potential mitochondrial marker for studying the population sub-structuring in the wild population of P. pangasius.