Population structure of Tor tor inferred from mitochondrial gene cytochrome b

Tor tor, commonly called as Tor mahseer, is a high-valued food and game fish endemic to trans-Himalayan region. Mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene region of 967 bp was used to estimate the population structure of T. tor. Three populations of T. tor were collected from Narmada (Hosangabad), Ken (Madla), and Parbati river (Sheopur) in Madhya Pradesh, India. The sequence analysis revealed that the nucleotide diversity (π) was low, ranging from 0.000 to 0.0150. Haplotype diversity (h) ranged from 0.000 to 1.000. The analysis of molecular variance analysis indicated significant genetic divergence among the three populations of T. tor. Neighboring-joining tree also showed that all individuals from three populations clustered into three distinct clades. The data generated by cyt b marker revealed interesting insight about population structure of T. tor, which would serve as baseline data for conservation and management of mahseer fishery.