Identification of penaeid shrimp from Chilika Lake through DNA barcoding

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Genetics
• Ecology

Background:

• Chilika Lake is a vital Indian shrimp habitat with significant commercial trade.
• The genetic diversity of penaeid shrimp species in this lagoon remains largely uncharacterized.
• DNA barcoding offers a powerful adjunct to traditional morphology-based species identification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the genetic diversity of penaeid shrimp species in Chilika Lake.
• To establish DNA barcode data for morphologically identified shrimp species.
• To investigate potential population structure within key species.

Main Methods:

• Morphological identification of six penaeid shrimp species from Chilika Lake.
• Generation of DNA barcode sequences (COI gene) for identified specimens.
• Phylogenetic analysis using Neighbor-Joining (NJ) tree construction.
• Comparison of generated sequences with existing databases (GenBank, BOLD).

Main Results:

• Most sequences showed high similarity (99-100%) to known conspecific database entries.
• Significant genetic variability and distinct clades were observed in *Penaeus monodon*, *Litopenaeus vannamei*, and *Metapenaeus monoceros*.
• Genetic variation within species correlated with different sampling locations, indicating potential population structuring.

Conclusions:

• DNA barcoding reveals substantial genetic diversity within commercially important penaeid shrimp species in Chilika Lake.
• The observed genetic variations suggest distinct populations possibly linked to geographical distribution within the lagoon.
• Further extensive surveys and DNA barcoding across wider geographical areas are recommended to fully resolve intra-species genetic distances.