DNA barcoding of catfishes (Order: Siluriformes) with description of two new records from eastern region of Nepal

Altogether 99 specimens catfishes collected from the Eastern Region of Nepal (ERN), representing 29 species belonging to 21 genera and eight families were successfully barcoded employing mitochondrial COI gene sequence analysis showing 98.5-100% identity with both GeneBank and BOLD databases. Of these, two species i.e. Amblyceps, arunachalense and Erethistoides sicula were recorded for the first time from Nepal. Out of the 29 species, one species was found to be Endangered, two species under Near Threatened,one species under Vulnerable, one species under Data Deficient and 24 species under Least Concern category. The intra-specific genetic distances within species ranged from 0 to 5%. The highest intraspecific K2P and p-distances were found among the two species viz., E. sicula (4%) and Glyptothorax telchita (5%), indicating the presence of putative species. The inter-specific genetic distances ranged from 0 to 17%. GC content at 1st, 2nd and 3rd codon was found to be 42.4, 49.3 and 43.8%, respectively. The findings of the study will definitely support the upcoming initiatives on fisheries resource management and conservation in the region. It also forms an important input towards the DNA barcode library of catfishes of the eastern region of Nepal. Keywords: Barcoding, Fish diversity, Freshwater, Hills, Lowland, Streams