A preliminary molecular comparison of P. (penaeus) semisulcatus of Persian Gulf and its subspecies, penaeus semisulcatus persicus using 16S rRNA

the green tiger shrimp, P. (penaeus) semisulcatus is the most important species of the Penaeidfamily in Persian Gulf. Based on morphological characters, the new subspecies P.semisulcatus persicus is recognized. In the present study, the mitochondrial 16S rRNA is used for the molecular comparison of P. semisulcatus and P.semisulcatus persicus. Ten samples of the species (five from the coast of Boushehr and five from Bandarabbas) and ten samples of the subspecies (five from the coast of Boushehr and five from Bandarabbas) were collected and utilized for this purpose. Fragments of the 16S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced, using the 16sar and 16sbr universal primers. The sequences were aligned using ClustalW. Results showed that the amplified fragments are 561bp and A-T rich (66.4%). The sequences alignments indicated that the mitochondrial 16S rRNA of Penaeus semisulcatus collected from Boushehr and Bandarabbas are identical. Results of the present study also indicated that the mitochondrial 16S rRNA of P.semisulcatus persicus collected from Boushehr and Bandarabbas are the same. The mitochondrial 16S rRNA alignments of species and subspecies reveal that 18 nucleotide substitutions are occurred and transition to transversion ratio was 3.906. Based on Kimura 2-parameter and using MEGA 4.0.2 software, the calculated genetic distance between P. semisulcatus and its subspecies was 3.3%. The notable genetic distance between P. semisulcatus emphasizes the need for further study on this issue, employing other genetic genomic and mitochondrial markers..