Assessing genetic diversity of populations of topmouth culter (Culter alburnus) in China using AFLP markers

Genetic diversity of five wild populations and a cultured population of topmouth culter (Culter alburnus) was investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 373 reproducible bands amplified with seven AFLP primer combinations were obtained from 163 fish. The percentage of polymorphic loci ranged widely from 37.0% to 69.2% within distinct populations. The cultured population appeared to have a lower level of polymorphism (37.0%), gene diversity (0.121 ± 0.188) and Shannon's Information index (0.183 ± 0.263) than the wild populations. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that average F_ST value overall loci was 0.2671, and the percentage of variation within population (73.29%) was larger than among populations (26.71%) (P < 0.01). The six populations were clustered into two major clades with UPGMA. The results from analysis of population pairwise gene flow indicated moderate gene flow among populations. Our study indicated that the genetic diversity of the cultured population was reduced compared with the wild populations. Geographic isolation, habitat, and artificial selection all may have played important roles in population differentiation. The information may be beneficial to future broodstock selection and defining conservation management for the different populations of topmouth culter.