Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Liza klunzingeri from the Northern Persian Gulf Based on AFLP Analysis

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of Liza klunzingeri in two regions of the Persian Gulf. In this study, the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was employed to analyze population genetic diversity between two populations (Ziyarat & Hendijan). Seven primer combinations (E-AAG/M-CTA, E-ACT/ M-CAA, E-ACT/ M-CTA, E-AAG/M-CTG, E-ACT/M-CAT, E- AAG/ M- CAC and E-AAG/ M- CAG) were used. A total of 358 fragments were identified from 40 individuals (two populations), with percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) being 86.63% at the population level, respectively. The average gene diversity was 0.2528 and Shannon’s information index was 0.4030. Coefficient of gene differentiation between populations (GST) was 0.0585. AMOVA analysis revealed high genetic variations within populations (90%). The estimated number of migrants per generation (Nm) was 8.0419, indicating a high level of gene flow among populations. The UPGMA dendrogram clustered all 40 individuals into 2 groups. In some cases individuals from the same region were grouped together, but in most cases, gene exchange was observed to be common among the groups. To study the genetic relationships among populations, a principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) based on Nei’s genetic distances was performed. Results of this study showed that AFLP marker can be a useful tool for investigating the genetic diversity of Liza klunzingeri genotypes.