Avaliação da diversidade genética de Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes 1836) no Rio Claro, Goiás, Brasil

Abstract

Hydroelectric energy is the most used source of renewable energy which contributes significantly to the generation of global energy, and it is also often considered as a source of clean energy due to the reduction of effluent pollution. However, the dams of hydroelectric plants prevent the natural flow of the river which affects the entire local ecosystem, especially the species that migrate for reproductive purposes. Knowing the genetic diversity of populations is important to develop conservation actions that aim to reduce the risk of extinction Because of the present scenery, this study aims to make an analysis of the genetic diversity using microsatellite molecular markers of the populations of Prochilodus lineatus from Rio Claro in the city of Caçu (Goiás, Brazil Overall, 63 specimens were collected at five points distributed along the main channel of the Rio Claro from 2012 to 2014. The specimens were subdivided into three populations (A, B and C) according to the barriers present in the river. These individuals were analyzed using five loci of microsatellite molecular marker. The analysis of the measure of exclusion of paternity and likelihood of identity, the values Q = 0.999 and PI = 9.507 x 10-11 were found, indicating that the five loci performed in the study are efficient for population genetic studies, because they were able to discriminate between individuals. On average, 15 alleles were identified per locus. The population average of the observed heterozygosity (0.5378) was below the population average of the expected heterozygosity (0.9176), with the presence of inbreeding resulting from the reproductive system Fis (0.4625). The Fst value was low (0.016), therefore, it was significant (p≤0.05%), indicating a population subdivision, corroborating with the results of the Bayesian analysis that showed two genetic groups, when verifying the analysis of genetic divergence. The first group is the population (A and B) and the other group is the population (C). However, there is a gene flow between populations A and B, on the other hand, the population C is genetically isolated, possibly due to the fact that it is located between two anthropic barriers. The populations presented a low genetic diversity and high inbreeding, which may be related to the population subdivision found in the river. This study was important to indicate to conservation programs that the species P. lineatus may be possibly suffering impacts caused by the barriers present in the course of Clear river