Genetic characterization of species is crucial in determining the direction of aquaculture development. The genetic diversity of striped snakehead (Channa striata) across five main islands in Indonesia from aquaculture and capture was explored through its partial mtDNA CO1 gene . Twelve populations were assayed and subdivided into four regions following the generated haplotypes resulting into medium diversity (Hd:0.7355) with the largest genetic distance found between the population of Borneo and Sumatera (D:0.95954). Phylogeny studies showed a close genetic relationship among all populations as they share common ancestors . However, the Sumatera population formed a different clade and contributes largely to the high genetic diversity of the examined populations (Hd:1.00 ; π:0.0024) . The findings of this study are fundamental for initiating a selective breeding program and for developing conservation management.
Twenty-six species members of g enera Channa are native to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Asia peninsular (Courtenay et al., 2004) . One of them is t he striped snakehead Channa striata (Bloch, 1793) that is well-known in biomedical fields in many local Asian communities and is an important species in both fisheries and aquaculture. Although the dispersion of C. striata quite extensively cover s almost all regions of Southeast Asia, knowledge regarding to its development in Indonesia is limited. Previous studies of striped snakehead mainly focused on genetic and phylogeographic features of wild populations in Malaysia and partly Indonesia . Tan et al., (2012) found that C. striata collected from different regions in Malaysia were structured by natural physical barriers and anthropogenic activities. Another study based on Cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) found similar genetic differentiation among Malaysian and Indonesian (Sumatra island) populations (Siti-Balkhis et al ., 2011; Tan et al ., 2015). However, the geographic distance used in the above mentioned studies may not reflect the water distance which is directly involved in the natural migration of fish species.
Field sampling of individuals were collected from a total of 13 populations distributed throughout Sumatera, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi and Papua. Sampling locations were divided into five regions following the main island s of Indonesia.