Population Structure of Tropical Abalone (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Haliotis asinina</Emphasis>) in Coastal Waters of Thailand Determined Using Microsatellite Markers

Three partial genomic libraries were constructed from genomic DNA of the tropical abalone (Haliotis asinina) that was digested with AluI, vortexed/sonicated, and digested with mixed enzyme (AluI, HincII, and RsaI). The libraries yielded 0.02%, 0.42%, and 1.46% positive microsatellite-containing clones, respectively. Eleven clones each of perfect, imperfect, and compound microsatellites were isolated. Ten primer pairs (CUHas1–CUHas10) were analyzed to evaluate their polymorphic level. The numbers of alleles per locus, observed heterozygosity (H₀), and expected heterozygosity (H_e) ranged from 3 to 26 alleles, and varied between 0.27 and 0.85 and between 0.24 and 0.93, respectively. Three microsatellite loci (CUHas2, CUHas3, and CUHas8) were further used for examination of genetic diversity and differentiation of natural H. asinina in coastal waters of Thailand. Genetic variabilities in terms of the effective number of alleles (n_e), H₀, and H_e were higher in 2 samples from the Gulf of Thailand (n_e = 9.37, 7.66; H₀ = 0.62, 0.78; and H_e = 0.87, 0.86) than those of one sample (n_e = 6.04; H₀ = 0.58; and H_e = 0.62) derived from the Andaman Sea. Assessment of genetic heterogeneity, including allele frequency comparison and pairwise F_ST analysis, indicated interpopulational differentiation, between natural H. asinina from the Gulf of Thailand and that from the Andaman Sea (P < 0.0001).