RP1S7 – A Possible Marker for Sturgeon Hybrids Identification

Abstract

The Acipenseridae family includes sturgeon species that have the ability to easily generate interspecies hybrids in both natural and aquaculture conditions. For the differentiation between hybrids and pure species, mitochondrial markers have been used, but they have not proven effective. Nuclear markers, such as the RP1S7 marker, encoding the S7 ribosomal protein, show to be more effective in achieving this differentiation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity of this nuclear marker in discriminating between pure sturgeon species and their interspecies hybrids. DNA samples were isolated from fin fragments. The RP1S7 marker was amplified by PCR and the obtained amplicons were analysed by agarose gel electrophoresis and sequencing. In order to determine the accuracy of the primers and to validate this marker, the sequences were compared with similar ones from GenBank. The resulting electrophoretic profiles showed differences that can be used to distinguish between pure sturgeon species and their interspecies hybrids. Therefore, the RP1S7 marker can be included in a panel of DNA markers for molecular identification of sturgeon species and their hybrids.

Keywords

• sturgeons
• hybridization
• nuclear markers
• rp1s7