PCR-RFLP Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA: Differentiation of Fish Species

A method for identification of fish species has been developed based on the amplification of a specific part of the mitochondrial genome (tRNAGlu/cytochrome b) using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To distinguish between several fish species the obtained 464 bp long PCRproducts were cut with different restriction endonucleases (RE) resulting in species specific restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP). The method is suitable for differentiating between, for example, Atlantic and several Pacific salmon species.