The mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, is a marine fish of key economic and cultural importance in the Indo-Pacific region. It is now considered much more of an important aquaculture species than capture fisheries. The present study aimed to reveal the genetic structure of this candidate species from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal using microsatellite markers. Twelve microsatellite markers used for genetic stock characterization and 384 samples collected from six different locations were used for the study. Genetic characterization using microsatellite markers suggested a single unit stock of red snapper in the sampling region with sufficient gene flow between populations to restrict the genetic structuring. Genetic differentiation co-efficient analysis suggested lack of structuring between populations. However, Bayesian cluster analysis performed in STRUCTURE revealed some evidence of sub-structuring between the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal populations. Hierarchical AMOVA analysis, Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and isolation by distance analysis offered some support to the above findings. The inability of microsatellites to detect population differentiation in this instance suggests the need for more powerful markers, like SNPs, to reveal the sub-structuring before appropriate management practices can be developed for the mangrove red snapper in Indian waters.

红树林红鲷鱼，Lutjanus argentimaculatus，是一种在印度-太平洋地区具有重要经济和文化意义的海洋鱼类。它现在被认为比捕捞渔业更重要的水产养殖物种。本研究旨在使用微卫星标记揭示阿拉伯海和孟加拉湾候选物种的遗传结构。用于遗传种群​​表征的 12 个微卫星标记和从六个不同地点收集的 384 个样本用于研究。使用微卫星标记的遗传表征表明，在采样区域有一个单一单位的红鲷鱼种群，种群之间有足够的基因流动来限制遗传结构。遗传分化系数分析表明种群之间缺乏结构。然而，在 STRUCTURE 中进行的贝叶斯聚类分析揭示了阿拉伯海和孟加拉湾种群之间亚结构的一些证据。分层 AMOVA 分析、主坐标分析 (PCoA) 和距离分析隔离为上述发现提供了一些支持。在这种情况下，微卫星无法检测种群分化，这表明需要更强大的标记（如 SNP）来揭示子结构，然后才能为印度水域的红树林红鲷鱼开发适当的管理实践。