Genetic relationship between five fish species of genus scarus using rapd assay

Scaridae fish species including Scarus psittacus, S. frenatus, S. genazonatus, S. fuscopurpureus and S. niger, were collected from Red Sea in Egypt. The DNA fingerprints of these species were identified using RAPD-PCR technique with eight decamer primers. A total of 93 bands were scored in all species using the selected primers, with the size range varying from 190 to 2500 bp. On average, each primer amplified 11.63 bands per species. Each species had both monomorphic and polymorphic DNA bands. The polymorphic bands represent 34.41% in all fish species. The highest similarity index (70%) was found between Scarus psittacus and S. frenatus, while the lowest one (51%) was between Scarus psittacus and S. niger, S. genazonatus and S. fuscopurpureus and S. genazonatus and S. niger. Therefore the phylogenetic relationships among the five studied scaridae species were clearly resolved in dendrogram, they were clustered into four clusters groups: the first one comprised, S. fuscopurpureus and S. niger, the second included S. psittacus, S. frenatus and S. genazonatus, the third included S. genazonatus and the fourth branch contained S. psittacus and S. frenatus. In conclusion, the obtained results exhibited that the five Scarus species are distinctive ones. In addation, the RAPD patterns are suitable tools to differentiate between fish species.