Abstract

The present population genetic study was carried out to identify basic genetic structure of Labeo gonius from three different sized reservoirs viz., Dhaura, Baigul and Nanak Sagar reservoir of Uttarakhand by applying allozyme markers. The allozyme analysis was conducted for 18 enzymes but only 10 enzymes showed their presence with scorable activity. All ten allozymes yielded overall 19 scorable loci, out of which 11 loci were found to be polymorphic in the population with a percentage of 57.89. Genetic diversity parameters, that is number of polymorphic loci, the mean number of alleles per locus, observed (H_O) and expected heterozygosity (H_e), fixation index (F_IS) and genic differentiation were estimated by using software GENEPOP Ver.3.4 indicating high level of genetic diversity in stocks of all three reservoirs of L. gonius being more heterozygous in Nanak sagar followed by Baigul and Dhaura reservoirs. F_ST for overall populations ranging from 0.01 to 0.18 indicate moderate genetic differentiation as per Wright’s criteria. The allozyme analysis in L. goniusshowed that these populations are moderately differentiated from each other and likely to be associated with small gene exchange which is responsible for weak sub-structuring of stocks in the three reservoirs.

Key words: Allozyme, Labeo gonius, genetic diversity, population genetics.