Genetic changes in Oreochromis shiranus (Trewavas) associated with the early stages of national aquaculture development in Malawi

A study was carried out to investigate the genetic diversity during domestication of Oreochromis shiranus (Trewavas) and to see if it could be associated with events in the known history of aquaculture development in Malawi. Five polymorphic microsatellite loci were scored in 14 populations of O. shiranus and one population of O. mossambicus (Peters). The mean number of alleles per locus ranged from 4.4 +/- 1.03 to 13.2 +/- 3.31 and was higher in the wild populations than in the domesticated populations. Other measures of genetic diversity were also lower in the domesticated compared with the wild populations, and the decline in diversity was correlated with the time elapsed since the founding of the farm stocks. Ordination analysis grouped domesticated populations into three: (1) those that trace their genealogy from Lakes Chiuta and Chilwa populations and are now spread all over the country; (2) those that come from Lakes Malawi and Malombe; and (3) hybrids between O. shiranus and O. mossambicus. Genetic differentiation among farms was strongly influenced by the pattern of known exchanges among the farmers and introgressive hybridization that had occurred between O. shiranus and O. mossambicus in the farmers' ponds. Thus, the process of genetic changes in the species subsequent to domestication are best explained and predicted by socio-economic factors that influence the behaviour of farmers, rather than by the time-and-distance models of standard population genetics.