Molecular Verification of the Exotic Armoured Catfish Pterygoplichthys pardalis Using COI Barcoding Approach
Sudarshan Markad
Department of Zoology, Shri Shiv Chhatrapati College, Junnar, Pune, Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India.
Ravindra Chaudhari
Department of Zoology, Shri Shiv Chhatrapati College, Junnar, Pune, Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India.
Somnath Waghmare *
Department of Zoology, Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune, Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Pterygoplichthys pardalis is an exotic armoured catfish native to South America and widely introduced into freshwater ecosystems through the ornamental fish trade. Due to morphological similarities among species of the genus Pterygoplichthys, accurate identification using conventional taxonomy alone becomes difficult. The present study aimed to confirm the identity of P. pardalis inhabiting the Ujani reservoir, Maharashtra, India, using morphological characters and mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcoding. A total of 336 specimens were collected and examined for morphometric and meristic characters, while one representative specimen was selected for molecular analysis. Genomic DNA was isolated from muscle tissue and the COI gene was amplified using Folmer’s universal primers. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis were performed using MEGA 11 by the Neighbor-Joining method with bootstrap support. The generated sequence showed close clustering with reference sequences of P. pardalis, confirming species identity. The study demonstrates the usefulness of DNA barcoding for accurate identification and monitoring of invasive fish species in freshwater ecosystems and provides the first molecular record of P. pardalis from the Ujani reservoir region of Maharashtra.
Keywords: Mitochondrial DNA, invasive alien species, pterygoplichthys, Ujani reservoir