Population structure and genetic diversity in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) assessed with microsatellites.

Yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) is an important aquaculture species which is widely distributed, especially in the Yangtze River of China. To facilitate its conservation and stock improvement, 273 yellow catfish samples from the Yangtze River (seven populations) and Baiyangdian (BYD) Lake were genotyped using eight microsatellites in combination with capillary electrophoresis. A total of 250 alleles were detected at eight loci in eight populations showing high allelic (Na= 31.25 ± 7.38) and genetic diversity (He = 0.888-0.944). Both FST and clustering analyses revealed the presence of subtle population differences between the species of Yangtze River and the BYD lake. Mantel tests suggest that genetic distance is significantly correlated with geographical distance (R = 0.9294 and P < 0.05). The results of genetic diversity and population structure will help in conservation and improvement of yellow catfish.