Genetic structure in wild populations of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis.

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to examine genetic variation in wild black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon. Specimens were collected from five geographically separated locations (Satun-Trang, Phangnga, and Medan in the Andaman Sea and Chumphon and Trad in the Gulf of Thailand). A total of 100 P. monodon individuals were investigated using seven arbitrarily selected primers. Fifty-eight (72.5%) of eighty reproducible RAPD fragments ranging in size from 200 to 2200 bp were polymorphic. The percentages of polymorphic bands of the five geographic populations investigated varied from 51.5 to 57.7%. The genetic distance between populations and UPGMA dendrograms indicated that the Medan population was genetically different from Thai P. monodon (Dij = 14.976%). Within Thailand, the Satun-Trang P. monodon was separated from the remaining geographic populations with a genetic distance of 2.632%. RAPD analysis in the present study yielded a total of 252 genotypes. A Monte Carlo analysis illustrated geographic heterogeneity in genotype frequencies within this species, suggesting that genetic population structure does exist in this taxon (P < 0.001 for all primers). Signficant differences in genotype frequencies between Thai and Indonesian (Medan) P. monodon were observed (P < 0.0001). Within Thailand, the Andaman Sea P. monodon was significantly different from that of the Gulf of Thailand (P values between 0.0000 and 0.0387), indicating population differentiation between P. monodon from these two main fishery regions of Thailand.