Genetic characterization of invading cyprinids in the Mojave River basin using diagnostic SNP and microsatellite markers

Authors: David A. Layman, Yongjiu Chen, Steve Parmenter, Debra L. Hughson, Frank Pezold

Year: 2010 (xlii)

Abstract

The Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis) is a federally endangered cyprinid fish that has been completely displaced in the Mojave River by the non-native arroyo chub (Gila orcutti) through competition and hybridization. Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda), another cyprinid which recently gained access to the Mojave River through the California Aqueduct, has also demonstrated the capacity to hybridize with the arroyo chub. Methods for accurately documenting introgression and detecting the viability of hybrid offspring are needed to develop feasible recovery strategies for the Mohave tui chub. This work presents diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers as a molecular tool to distinguish the three species. SNP assay using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) and microsatellite DNA analysis take place to characterize the genetic composition of cyprinids and the extent of introgression in the river system.