title: Genetic identification of istiophorid larvae from the Gulf of Mexico based on the analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences.
abstract: Assigning relative importance of spawning and nursery habitats for threatened and endangered teleosts, such as those seen in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), relies on the proper identification of the early life-history stages of the species of concern. Here, sequencing a portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) I as barcodes is recommended to identify istiophorid (billfish) larvae in the Atlantic Ocean because of its high resolution and the intrinsic value of the levels of genetic variation that can be extracted from these data. The universality of the primers employed here demonstrates their utility for not only the positive identification of istiophorids in the GoM, but for any larval teleost occurring in areas recognized as larval hotspots worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, 210 Nagle Hall, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2258, U.S.A.|Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Centre for Aquaculture and Environmental Research, 4160 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC, V7V 1N6, Canada.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: McKenzie
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, 210 Nagle Hall, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2258, U.S.A.|Department of Marine Biology, Seawolf Parkway, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, 77554, U.S.A.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Alvarado Bremer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005399:Fishes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D060851:Gulf of America; D007814:Larva / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: barcodes; billfish; forensic identification; larval hotspot; mtDNA; universal teleost primers