Genetic Variability in Cultured and Wild Population of Clarias gariepinus Using Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)

Aim: The present study was undertaken to determine the genetic differences between cultured and wild populations of Clarias gariepinus in Southwest Nigeria using Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).

Study Design: Three wild populations from River Osun, Owena, and Agbabu and three farmed populations from hatcheries in Akure, Ilesa and Ado-Ekiti, were collected for the study

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, between june 2012 and January 2013

Methodology: Two hundred and forty live specimens of C. gariepinus were analysed for their genetic differences. Live specimens comprising forty individual from each location were collected and kept in six concrete tanks (2x1x1) m3 at Teaching and Research Farm of Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Federal University of Technology, Akure. Blood samples were collected and used for Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide Gel (SDS-PAGE) for the protein profiling.

Results: The protein profile produced two clusters which indicate divergence of the species into two sub species. There was high level of genetic heterogeneity among samples of Clarias species and those from various locations under study. The SDS-PAGE banding patterns across the six populations studied showed that the mean heterozygosity for the six populations ranged from 0.398 to 0.425.

Conclusion: This study has established that there is genetic difference in both wild and cultured C. gariepinus. Further study involving RAPD, microsatellite, and AFLP can be used to maximize the efficiency of the study. Also, increased number of samples could improve the validity of this study.