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 L. fulvus and L. fulviflamma 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