Genotyping live fish larvae: Non-lethal and noninvasive DNA isolation from 3–5 day old hatchlings

Genotyping fish larvae is a valuable technique for numerous fields of study. While methods for collecting DNA from early stage larvae have been published, a non-lethal, non-invasive genotyping protocol for hatchlings that is amenable to high-throughput approaches is desirable. Here, we describe a me...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: G. Janelle Espinoza, J. Michael Poland, Jaime R. Alvarado Bremer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2017-10-01
Series:BioTechniques
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Online Access:https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/000114598
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Summary:Genotyping fish larvae is a valuable technique for numerous fields of study. While methods for collecting DNA from early stage larvae have been published, a non-lethal, non-invasive genotyping protocol for hatchlings that is amenable to high-throughput approaches is desirable. Here, we describe a method to individually genotype live, free-swimming, early fish larvae by characterizing their environmental DNA (eDNA). We demonstrate the utility of the method by assigning parentage to a sample (n = 50) of 3–5-day-old sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) larvae hatchlings, with very high rates of genotyping success (98%) and survival (92%) using mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA data. This method could be easily adapted to characterize early fish larvae from other model and non-model fish species, such as Danio rerio (zebrafish) and Medaka medaka.
ISSN:0736-6205
1940-9818