quotA GENETICAL AND ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF FRESH WATER PRAWNS FROM KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT TAMIL NADU INDIAquot

Abstract

newline quotFresh water prawns are cultured widely around the world but little newlineis known about the levels and patterns of genetic diversity. This paper newlinereports the RAPD analysis of four species of fresh water prawns of newlineAtydiae and Palaemonidiae family and the genus Macrobrachium and newlineCaridina collected from Kanyakumari district. Specimens are identified newlineusing species-specific morphological characteristics. Morphological newlinecharacters have limitations of describing intra specific genetic diversity newlineas they are polygenic and expressions can be modified by the newlineenvironment. The advent of molecular technique made possible not only newlinethe genetic analysis and also the study of evolutionary relationship. newlineMolecular analysis of the morphologically identified species are done by newlineextracting the DNA from the animal and concentration of DNA is newlinemeasured using Nanodrop spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 280nm. newlineFurther analysis was performed with RAPD (Rapid Amplified newlinePolymorphic DNA) a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) based newlinetechnique. It consist of genomic DNA, amplified with randomly newlineconstructed oligonucleotides. Specific quantity of extracted DNA was newlinethen amplified by multiplex PCR using random primers and 16S rRNA newlinegene products was then analyzed using a bioanalyzer. From the analysis, newlineelectropherograms of DNA samples were obtained and the newlineelectrophoresis gel image of the samples were obtained. newlineElectropherogram were then overlaid on each other and the genetic newlinevariation between the four species was determined.quot newline