Phylogeographic Study of Freshwater Fish Channa striata (Bloch) and Channa punctata (Bloch) Construed Using DNA Barcodes Between Three Rivers in Southern Tamil Nadu Region, India

Channa striata and Channa punctata are freshwater fishes with good nutritional and economic importance. The genus Channa had been reported as a species complex till date and hence, the phylogeographic study based on DNA barcodes for two Channa sp. was initiated to substantiate the genetic diversity with respect to their geographic location. In this study, fish samples of C. striata and C. punctata collected from selected sites in three major rivers (Cauvery, Vaigai and Thamirabarani) flowing through Southern Tamil Nadu region, India. Morphometric and meristic characteristics were recorded. PCR amplification of Cytochrome Oxidase I gene from fishes in each location was sequenced and submitted to Barcode of Life Data System. Three Barcode Index Numbers (BIN’s) were obtained, C. punctata from all sites shared a common BIN AAE8814, C. striata from Cauvery had a different BIN ACB7973 whereas C. striata from Thamirabarani and Vaigai shared an identical BIN AAB2498. The phylogeographic analysis based on Mantel’s test for C. striata yielded a positive correlation between the genetic divergence and geographical distance but for C. punctata it showed negative correlation.