Novel family- and genus-specific DNA markers in Mugilidae

Abstract

In this study, we identified novel family- and genus-specific DNAmarkers in Mugilidae fish. Genomic DNA was isolated from the blood offish of 15 families and eighty (80) random primers were used for randomamplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting. When the primer OPAV04was employed, a novel specific PCR product was observed in the Mugilidaefamily. In addition, another novel specific PCR product was alsoobserved in the Liza genus while using primer OPAV10. Sequencinganalysis revealed that the novel family- and genus-specific DNAfragments were 857 and 419 bp, respectively, and no similar sequenceswere found in GenBank. Two primers sets were designed based on thefamily- and genus-specific sequences to confirm the RAPD results and the571 and 187 bp predicted bands were successfully amplified by PCR.Intriguingly, these two novel specific DNA markers were also effectivelyused for terrestrial and aquatic animal discrimination. Therefore, thenovel family- and genus-specific DNA markers identified in this studycan be used as an effective tool for rapid and accurate determination ofthe Mugilidae family and Liza genus, and even for cross-speciesidentification.