Phylogenetic, growth performance and protein growth hormone of snakehead fish (Channa striata) from wild stock in Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract Watershed isolation may influence morphological, genetic variations, and protein expression of snakehead fish ( Channa striata ). This research seeks to identify snakehead diversity from isolated Inland waters in Sumatra, i.e., Kampar River (SK), Merang River (SM), Cala Lake (DC), and Lampam Floodplain (RL). Channa striata samples were collected from inland waters and cultivated in Aquaculture laboratory. Cytochrome b gene was used for genetic characterization. Growth protein was analyzed using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA). We collected DNA from four samples at each site. The growth performance of cultivated snakehead fish was also observed. Five hundred post-juvenile snakehead fish from four populations were cultivated for 45-days with five repetitions. Each population had 12 snakehead fish tested for GH protein. Data were statistically tested using ANOVA, maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree analysis, linear regression, and Pearson correlation. The results showed four clusters of snakehead fish in the phylogenetic tree. The DC population had the highest significant value of the daily length growth rate (7.5±0.2 %). The GH protein-growth relationship was low (0.014-0.083). The SM snakehead fish population had the highest concentration of GH protein (1.77±0.11 pg μl −1 ) and had distinct cyt.b gene clusters from other populations, making it a potential candidate for future aquaculture strain development.