Genetic diversity of divergent redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus (Von Martens, 1868) populations evaluated to initiate a breeding program in Mexico

Abstract

Cherax quadricarinatus is a decapod crustacean of interest to the aquaculture industry. In Mexico, a significant effort has been made to improve biological requirements, but the genetic characteristics are unknown. We examined the genetic diversity and differentiation in four populations in Mexico (three commercial farms and one feral population), as well as one research line from Argentina, used as reference. To initiate a founder stock in a genetic improvement program, we analyzed five microsatellite markers. The genetic diversity in terms of the number of alleles was low to moderate (2.8-6.2) in Mexican populations than the Argentinean sample (8.8). A pairwise Wright's Fst analysis showed that all populations were significantly different (P < 0.5). Cross-breeding organisms from a different population are suggested to increase genetic variability before initiating a founder stock with higher genetic variation.

Genetic Variability of Wild Populations of Invasive Redclaw Crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) von Martens 1868 Across Peninsular Malaysia

“…Nowadays, molecular genetic studies have indeed become an efficient field for determining the levels of differentiation among populations (Khaleel et al, 2019;Abdullahi et al, 2021;Dali et al, 2021;Max-Aguilar et al, 2021). The use of mitochondrial DNA has increasingly become significant in resolving molecular genetic diversities and structures as well as tracking the origin of different species (Ha et al, 2017;Khaleel et al, 2020).…”