Genetic Diversity and DNA Barcoding of Cyprinidae Habiting Lotic and Lentic Ecosystem of Pakistan.

The lotic and lentic ecosystem of Pakistan is a rich source of biodiversity, notably including important fish species. Earlier genetic studies pertinent to the family Cyprinidae are limited to some extent, this study aimed to provide comprehensive insights into the species inhabiting these water bodies. We identified 36 specimens nine genera and nine species viz: Labeo rohita, Crossocheilus latius, Ptychobarbus conirostris, Cirrhinus mrigala, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Salmostoma bacaila, Systomus sarana, Cyprinus carpio, Schizopygopsis stoliczkai within the Cyprinidae family. Utilizing key taxonomic features and DNA barcode analysis, we delineated intrinsic genetic variability among these species. An Fst analysis, conducted via R studio script revealed a variability range of 0.03-0.44. Additionally, to provide robust species identification QR codes and barcodes for each species were generated using an online code generator. This scannable QR code technique was adopted for the first time for cyprinids. The genetic distances based on kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model indicated differences of 0.16% within species and 23.09% within family. Notably, this study documents the COI sequence for Ptychobarbus conirostris into the Genbank database, a first time inclusion. Based on the outcomes of this study we conclude that the innovative utilization of DNA barcoding and QR codes provides explicit insights into the genetic variability among Cyprinidae fishes, suggesting their efficiency in the identification and characterization of cryptic species within these vital aquatic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]