Assessment of fish diversity using DNA barcoding from the Beas River in Himachal Pradesh for conservation and sustainable management

Abstract

Beas River is one of the major rivers in Himachal Pradesh, frequently impacted by flash floods in the upper reaches, causing biodiversity loss. DNA barcoding using the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene is widely used in assessing biodiversity and species identification. The current study represents the identification of fish fauna using the COI gene sequences in the Beas River basin in Himachal Pradesh. A total of 69 barcodes were generated, and molecular-based identification approaches such as Barcode Index Number, Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery were also employed. Along with molecular identification, biometric characters, including total length and meristic characters, were also measured for the observed species. In the present study, 35 fish species belonging to 27 genera, 10 orders, and 14 families were identified through DNA Barcoding using the 69 partial sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene. Out of 35 fish species, 3 species were Vulnerable, 1 species was Near Threatened, and 1 Endangered species was reported. Barcode sequence similarity of approximately all sequences was found to be 98–100 % identical with NCBI GenBank and BOLD system. The mean K2P genetic divergence from within species, within genera, within families and within orders were 0.50 %, 1.30 %, 5.80 %, and 8.20 %. A Maximum likelihood (ML) tree was also constructed, and all species revealed a distinct separation among the ten orders and fourteen families. The results of current study will aid other researchers in species identification and policymakers in formulating strategies for sustainable biodiversity management and conservation in Himachal Pradesh, Northern India.