By : Khaled Mohammed-Geba, Sobhy El-Sayed Hassab El-Nabi, Marwa Said El-Desoky

Abstract

The European eel Anguilla anguilla (Anguillidae, Anguilliformes) is amongst the most peculiar, economically-important fish species in the Egyptian and Mediterranean waters. Very rare studies are available about its populations in the Mediterranean. In order to investigate this issue, we designed cytochrome-c-oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene-specific primers for A. anguilla. These primers targeted the amplification of a 750 bp fragment towards the 5` extremity of COI. The primers were tested for A. anguilla elvers collected from Rachid Estuary in Egypt. They succeeded to amplify the targeted fragment. Using Forensically Informative Nucleotide Sequences (FINS) analysis and BLAST comparisons, the sequences were successfully assigned to A. anguilla, with clear segregation from other Anguilla species. The primers designed and used in this study can be then suggested as successful alternatives for universal primers commonly used in European eel barcoding.

4. Development of cytochrome-c-oxidase 1 specific primers for genetic discrimination of the European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758).
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