An RFLP database for authentication of commercial cyst samples of the brine shrimp Artemia spp. (International Study on Artemia LXX)


P. Bossier, W. Xiaomei, F. Catania, S. Dooms, G. Van Stappen, E. Naessens, P. Sorgeloos-2004
Aquaculture, 231(1-4): 93-112
Abstract:

Artemia cysts, originating from a variety of locations, are currently commercially exploited. The overall quality of the cysts depends on a lot of features including their intrinsic nutritional quality, harvesting and processing conditions, diapause characteristics and size, all influencing their commercial value. In order to mediate authentication of commercial Artemia cyst samples, a database containing eight RFLP patterns of a 1500 bp mitochondrial rDNA fragment was constructed. The database contains 53 samples, covering most of the geographical distribution of Artemia. On the basis of a band sharing index these 53 samples could be clustered into five groups. These groups coincide to a great extent with the currently accepted species or species complexes. Within each cluster diversity between samples is still considerable, reflecting the genetic diversity within each species. The developed method allows to assign samples to these clusters, facilitating their authentication at the species level.

(Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center, Faculty Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences, Ghent University, Rozier 44, 9000, Ghent, Belgium, e-mail: Peter.Bossier@Ugent.be)

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