The Azov-Black Sea fishery basin is distinguished by a large species diversity of harvested aquatic organisms. More than 180 species of fish live here. Many fish species are supplied to the market under their common names, and these names may differ depending on the region of catch. This not only causes confusion when conducting scientific research, but can also lead to violations in the production of food fish products.
DNA barcoding is a reliable method of identification with accounting of biological diversity at the species level, it allows you to create a database for the maximum possible number of aquatic organisms.
Since 2019, scientists from the Azov-Black Sea branch of the Russian State Research Center “All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography” (VNIRO) have collected 805 specimens of freshwater and marine fish species during research cruises in the Black and Azov Sea basins. A DNA sample, i.e. fragments of fish tissue, was collected from each sample. This study is aimed at obtaining DNA barcodes for commercial species for which recommended catch is established in the Azov-Black Sea fishery basin.
43 fish species belonging to 16 orders, 20 families, 37 genera were studied. 132 genetic profiles were identified, 48 of which are presented in the international database (NCBI/GenBank). 84 new genetic profiles characteristic of the ichthyofauna of the Azov and Black Seas were identified in 26 fish species.
The results of this work have generally demonstrated the effectiveness of DNA barcoding. The exceptions are fish of the genus Alosa (herring) and Rutilus rutilus heckelii (roach); to identify these species, it is necessary to search for new molecular markers.
Scientists continue to conduct research in this area to accumulate data, which will allow DNA barcoding to be used in the future as an effective tool in studying the aquatic environment and its biological resources, as well as in the event of arbitration court disputes.
VNIRO Press Service
