DETERMINATION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PORTUNUS PELAGICUS (LINNAEUS, 1758) COLLECTED FROM GULF OF MANNAR

In the present study, the marine crab Portunuspelagicus was screened with 17 primers and made to score polymorphism. The main emphasis of the present study was to assess the genetic diversity at intra specific level among the 3 accessions of P. pelagicus species of Gulf of Mannarusing RAPD markers. RAPD analysis shows that there is a high level of polymorphism among different accessions. From this study, it was understood that each location varied with respect to environmental factors and genetic parameters. The OPB-18, OPB-19, OPC-07 and OPN-06 primers produced distinct, highly reproducible amplification profile for all the screened samples. In the present study, amplification bands ranged between 250 and 663 bp. Maximum numbers of bands were produced by OPN-06 and least by OPB-19. Moderate to high genetic diversity was observed in all geographic samples of P. pelagicus from RAPD analysis. RAPD analysis from three different geographical regions shows clear polymorphic patterns. Thoothukudi and Rameshwaram populations appear in one cluster, while the Kanyakumari populations formed the other cluster indicating a genetic variability and diversity in samples collected from different places.