Abstract
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio. L) is the world’s oldest domesticated and the most important aquaculture species. The overall objective of this thesis is to advance the understanding of genetics of common carp with a special focus on Vietnamese domesticated and wild populations.The first part of the study demonstrated the potential of mitochondrial DNA for the analysis of genetic diversity, origin, divergence and genealogy of carp strains and populations. The second part, also using mitochondrial DNA sequences, examines taxonomic questions and evolutionary hypotheses focussing on samples originating from wild populations from across Eurasia. Overall, nucleotide divergence within common carp and genetic analyses were not consistent with contemporary views on the taxonomy of the species and, somewhat controversially, supports an Asian origin for European carp populations.
The third and fourth parts of the thesis present an examination of genetic diversity in introduced and indigenous domesticated stocks and wild populations of common carp from Vietnam using DNA direct sequencing, single strand conformation polymorphism analysis of the mitochondrial DNA control region and microsatellite markers. Both mitochondrial and nuclear markers were effective in distinguishing among experimental strains and showed high levels of diversity within most hatchery stocks, consistent with the crossbreeding and dissemination of experimental lines. The molecular genetic data sets showed a high level of concordance in the patterns of relationships among populations and stocks. The genetic data indicates that some wild populations of Vietnamese common carp are genetically distinct indicating the need for management strategies to preserve these gene pools.
The last part of the thesis presents a phylogenetic study of the taxonomic classification and relationship within subfamilies of the family Cyprinidae, including the subfamily Cyprininae to which common carp belong, using data from three mitochondrial DNA gene regions.
| Date of Award | Aug 2006 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Chris Austin (Supervisor) & Christopher P. Burridge (Supervisor) |