Abstract:In order to understand the genetic status of Aristichthys nobilis populations from six freshwater lakes and scientifically carry out stock enhancement, the genetic diversity and genetic structure of 223 A. nobilis from Tai Lake, Ge Lake, Changdang Lake, Gaoyou Lake, Hongze Lake and Luoma Lake were analyzed in Juangsu province based on COI gene sequences. The results showed that the studied fragment length of COI gene was 630bp, and the A+T base composition(55. 3%) was higher than the C+G combination (44.7%). A total of 14 variable sites were detected and 29 haplotypes were defined from 223 COI sequences, and the average haplotype diversity index (Hd) and nucleotide diversity index (Pi) was 0. 576 and 0. 0012, respectively, revealing high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity pattern. The haplotype diversity of six populations ranged from 0.494 to 0.665, and the nucleotide diversity varied 0.0009 to 0.0019, demonstrating their low genetic diversit . Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic variations mainly occurred within the populations(99.39%), the total genetic differentiation index (Fst) was 0.0061. The pairwise genetic differentiation index (Fst) ranged from -0.0228 to 0.0445, and the genetic distance among populations varied from 0.0012 to 0.0027, indicating that there was no significant genetic differentiation among six populations. The Neighbor- joining phylogenetic tree and network structure both showed that the haplotypes randomly distributed in six populations, without forming specific geographic calde. Both neutral tests and mismatch distribution anlysis indicate that the A.nobilis had experienced significant population expansion. The study showed that the genetic diversity of A.nobilis populations from freshwater lakes in Jiangsu province was relatively low, and their genetic structure tends to be homogenized. So, more measures need to be taken to improve the genetic diversity of A.nobilis.