Phylogeography of Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758) Inland Waters of Asia

Abstract

Abstract Clarias batrachus is native species from the Clarias genus that has significant economic value in the world, including Indonesia. The genetic relationship between C. batrachus populations in Asia has not been intensively studied. This study used the mitochondrial COI gene as a marker to examine the phylogeography pattern of Clarias batrachus in Indonesia and other Asian nations. The samples were extracted, PCR and sequenced using a standard procedure for these purposes. Five C. batrachus samples in total were taken from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The sequences from Aceh were compared with 39 samples from the Genbank were employed in this analysis. Of these, 10 samples from Thailand, 10 samples from India, 10 samples from Philippines and 9 samples from Java, Indonesia. The results showed that 15 haplotypes were produced from the sequences. All populations have a haplotype diversity (Hd) value of 0.892. With a genetic distance of 0.022, Thailand and the Philippines have the closest population, while Aceh and India have the furthest populations, separated by a genetic distance of 0.113. Within the population, the genetic distance varies between 0-0.005. Therefore, it is concluded that the C. batrachus population of Aceh is closer in genetic distance to the C. batrachus population of Thailand.