Deciphering the morphological and molecular characteristics of fresh water fish Lepidocephalus thermalis (V.) — DNA barcode approach

573-579Lepidocephalus thermalis (Valenciennes), commonly called the spiny loach or the spotted loach, is a small, edible fresh water fish, and phylogeography based differences in their morphology are not so apparent. Hence, in the present study, along with the morphometric and meristic characterization of L. thermalis collected from 11 sites in the southern Tamil Nadu region, their genomic adaptation using DNA barcode were analyzed. Initial molecular characterization of these fishes was carried out by RAPD analysis which showed polymorphism in their banding pattern. Further, PCR amplification of mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (CO I) for DNA barcoding was carried out, which revealed distinct sequences within the species and were submitted to BOLD (Barcode of Life Database). Five Barcode Index Numbers (BIN’s) ACY8615, ACZ6233, ACZ7491, ADB3001 and ADC6754 were obtained in positive correlation to their species distribution and biogeography of southern Tamil Nadu region, India based on Mantel’s test with significant P value 0.01. Thus, this study helps in better understanding of the phylogeography based genetic diversity in L. thermalis