Morphological and molecular identification of Metopograpsus crab caught from the coast of Tambala Village, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify the morphology and molecular profile of crab caught from the coast of Tambala Village, Tombariri District, Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi. Crabs were collected from the intertidal zone at night during the lowest tide. Crabs were morphological identified by description of shape, color and size of the carapace. Molecular identification was done through DNA barcoding including DNA extraction, amplification of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and electrophoresis. Morphological and genetic analysis identified the crab species as Metopograpsus oceanicus.

Keywords

• DNA barcoding
• Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene
• Electrophoresis
• Genetic analysis
• Phylogenetic tree