title: Morphometric and molecular analysis of mackerel (Rastrelliger spp) from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
abstract: Mackerel  (Scombridae; Rastrelliger) are small commercially important pelagic  fish found in tropical regions. They serve as a cheap source of animal protein  and are commonly used as live bait. By using a truss morphometrics protocol and  RAPD analysis, we examined morphological and genetic variation among 77  individual mackerel that were caught using long lines and gillnets at 11  locations along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Nineteen morphometric  traits were evaluated and genetic information was estimated using five 10-base  RAPD random primers. Total DNA was extracted from muscle tissue. Morphometric  discriminant function analysis revealed that two morphologically distinct  groups of Rastrelliger kanagurta and a single group of R. brachysoma can  be found along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We also found that the  head-related characters and those from the anterior part of the body of Rastrelliger spp significantly contribute to stock assessment of this population. RAPD  analysis showed a trend similar to that of the morphometric analysis,  suggesting a genetic component to the observed phenotypic differentiation.  These data will be useful for developing conservation strategies for these  species.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia. darlinamdn@usm.my
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Darlina
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Masazurah
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jayasankar
authors.forename: A F J
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Jamsari
authors.forename: A M N
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Siti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008296:Malaysia; D010473:Perciformes / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D017747:Seafood
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D004247:DNA