DNA BARCODING OF ABU-ZUMMAIR MYSTUS PELUSIUS (SOLANDER, 1794) (PISCES, SILURIFORMES, BAGRIDAE) FROM TIGRIS RIVER, IRAQ

Hind Dyia Hadi; Atheer Hussain Ali; Maab Riyadh Sajet

doi:10.26842/binhm.7.2026.19.1.0001

Authors

Hind Dyia Hadi Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
Atheer Hussain Ali Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Iraq.
Maab Riyadh Sajet Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2026.19.1.0001

Keywords:

Abu-zummair, Bagridae, Gene fragment, Gherai'at, Scaleless.

Abstract

A total of three specimens of Tigris mystus Mystus pelusius (Solander, 1794) were collected from the Tigris River at the Gherai'at region in Baghdad Province in May 2024. Several species in the family Bagridae are rather morphologically similar, especially during the juvenile stage, which may pose difficulties in their identification. The present study aims to identify the fish and determine its ancestry at the molecular level. The mitochondrial gene (cob) functions as a barcoding gene. It included a designated primer set with PCR amplification to align a cob gene fragment with sequences in NCBI using BLAST. The molecular testing of current specimens of M. pelusius and the phylogenetic tree demonstrate that the cob gene is effective for the genetic identification of M. pelusius, with samples from India and Indonesia showing the closest lineage 86% to the original ancestor of M. pelusius. The results demonstrate that the chosen cob gene functions as a reliable marker for clarifying the origin of M. pelusius in the Iraqi aquatic ecosystem. This project constitutes an ongoing examination of fish in Iraqi aquatic environments. The mitochondrial gene cob was recorded for the first time to identify this fish, and the results were registered as references in the database (ID: PV535328, PV535329, PV535330) in the NCBI GenBank.