Comparison of esterase banding pattern in some selected tissues of Macrognathus aculeatus and Mastacembalus armatus

Electrophoretic banding pattern of esterases from ten different tissues was compared between Macrognathus aculeatus and Mastacembalus armatus on polyacrilamide gels (7.5%) stained with a and b naphthyl acetates, where altogether, five esterase bands (Est-11.5 , Est-21.13 , Est-31 , Est-40.63 and Est-50.5 ) were observed. The expressions of esterase bands appeared to have tissue specific as well as species specific distribution. Comparative study revealed that esterase isozymes banding pattern in different tissues of the studied fishes has both similarity and dissimilarity in their staining intensity, in the occurrence of the number of bands and also in the expression of specific allele. Frequency of bands was comparatively higher in M. aculeatus (62%) than that of M. armatus (46%). Tissues that showed pronounced differentiation viz. gut, stomach, eye etc. were selected as marker tissues for identification.