Random amplified polymorphic DNA was
used to study the genetic diversity and assay polymorphisms among eleven
populations of Macrobrachium rosenbergii in Malaysia. The RAPD
procedure generated 205 markers in the 11 populations. and a large level
of polymorphisms was observed in all populations. The unweighted pair
group method with arithmetic averaging (UPGMA) clustering procedure based
on the markers identified three major clusters among all populations.
The results of the present study showed that RAPD based fingerprinting
were a useful tool to assess the genetic variability of freshwater prawn,
M. rosenbergii. Assessing high genetic variability within and among
M. rosenbergii is considered important genetic resources as it
has direct benefit for conserving wild stocks, greater potential for improvement
and serves as invaluable resource for different selection criteria, especially
when planning breeding or crossbreeding programs.