snapper species (1)

Indian researchers have developed a protocol based on PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) by treating a 515 bp fragment in the highly polymorphic mitochondrial D-loop region with a single enzyme Tsp5091 to give fragment fingerprints to identify 9 species of snapper. Individual species could be differentiated by 3–5 major bands. Very closely related species like Lfulvus and Lfulviflamma gave similar patterns due to high (94%) identity, while the other seven species were clearly differentiated. The method worked with frozen, cooked and fried fish, and was tested on samples of snapper purchased in a local market.              Read the abstract at: snapper identification                               

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