Preliminary genetic characterization of Betta burdigala from South Bangka for domestication and ex situ conservation

¹ Doctoral Program of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga, 60115 Surabaya, Indonesia.
² Aquaculture Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine, Universitas Bangka Belitung, 33172 Bangka, Indonesia.
³ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga, 60115 Surabaya, Indonesia.
⁴ Department of Marine, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine, Universitas Airlangga, 60115 Surabaya, Indonesia.

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Abstract

Betta burdigala is an endemic freshwater fish from Bangka Island, Indonesia, inhabiting peat swamp ecosystems increasingly threatened by habitat degradation. Baseline genetic information is essential to support domestication and ex situ conservation, yet remains limited, particularly from its type localities. This study provides preliminary genetic characterization of B. burdigala from three locations in South Bangka region: Bikang (holotype), Serdang and Pergam (neotype). Genetic analysis was conducted using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene amplified with FishF2 and FishR2 primers. A total of 15 sequences (654 bp) were analyzed, revealing 7 polymorphic sites (S = 7) and 7 haplotypes (h = 7). Haplotype diversity was high (Hd = 0.7810), while nucleotide diversity was low (π = 0.0022). Genetic distances among haplotypes ranged from 0.000 to 0.006. The highest polymorphic variation was observed in Serdang (S≈4), followed by Pergam (S ≈ 2), while Bikang showed minimal variation (S ≈ 1). Phylogenetic analysis indicated a single clade, and haplotype network analysis revealed one dominant haplotype shared across populations with several location-specific haplotypes. These findings provide baseline genetic information to support broodstock selection, genetic resource management, and ex situ conservation strategies.