Genetic differentiation of two Chrysichthys species using mitochondrial DNA sequencing

Genetic variation of two Chrysichthys species, Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus and Chrysichthys walkeri from the Lagos lagoon were investigated at mitochondrial DNA level. Mitochondrial DNA control region (D-loop) fragment was amplified. Twenty four D-loop fragments were randomly sequenced. Among 13 individuals of C. walkeri and 11 individuals of C. nigrodigitatus the number of haplotypes were 7, respectively. The haplotype and nucleotide diversities were respectively 0.846 and 0.010 C. nigrodigitatus and 0.873 and 0.006 for C. walkeri. The NJ tree clearly distinguished the two species into two clades with a mean genetic distance of 0.898. High diversities despite heavy fishing may indicate high recruitment of the species.