Assessment of genetic variation in closely related seahorse species (Genus: <i style="">Hippocampus</i>) using mtDNA marker

Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships among two species of seahorses (<i style="">Hippocampus kuda</i> &amp; <i style="">H. trimaculatus</i>) and one species of pipe fish (<i>Syngnathoides biaculeatus</i>) from Gulf of Mannar were analysed using cytochrome b gene (<i style="">cyt b</i>) sequence data (Acc. No. EF 189158 &amp; EF 189167). The genetic distance value between <i style="">H. kuda</i> and <i style="">H. trimaculatus</i> was found to be 0.155; while between <i style="">H. kuda</i> and <i>S. biaculeatus</i>, it was 0.256, and between <i style="">H. trimaculatus</i> and <i>S. biaculeatus</i>, 0.290. The percentage of identical pairs between <i style="">H. kuda</i> and <i style="">H. trimaculatus</i> was 85.90, and between <i style="">H. kuda</i> and <i>S. biaculeatus</i>, 79.19. The percentage of transition and transversion between two seahorse species (<i style="">H. kuda</i> &amp; <i style="">H. trimaculatus</i>) was lesser than between seahorse and pipe fish (<i>S. biaculeatus</i>). The results suggested that further phylogenetic studies are required to determine the genetic relationship in all Indian seahorse species.