Genetic variation and diversity of two brachyuran crab species (<i>Sesarma brockii </i>and<i> </i><i style="">Grapsus strigosus</i>)<i> </i>in an artificially developed mangrove ecosystem

Abstract

The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to estimate the genetic relationships and diversity of two brachyuran crab species (<i>Sesarma brockii</i> &amp; <i>Grapsus strigosus</i>) in an artificially developed mangrove ecosystem. Ten arbitrary primers were screened to identify species-specific RAPD markers in <i>S. brockii</i> and <i>G. strigosus.</i> On average about 26% scorable RAPD bands were specific to each species. Gene diversity (H) in <i>S. brockii</i> and <i>G. strigosus</i><i style=""> </i>was 0.0589±0.0457 and<i style=""> </i>0.0056±0.0052, respectively. The genetic distance between <i>S. brockii</i><i style=""> </i>and<i style=""> G. strigosus </i>was 1.2714. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these two species grouped into separate clusters emphasizing the distinct species status.