AFLP reveals no sex-specific markers in Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) or beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) from the southern Caspian Sea, Iran

The late sexual maturity in sturgeon and the absence of morphological differences between males and females makes sex discrimination difficult. Identification of sex at an early life stage is of high interest in caviar production because it allows efficient selection of females. In this study, the genome of 10 mature male and 10 mature female specimens of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) and beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) were screened using AFLP and 100 primer combinations. Results showed a total of 3771 and 3779 scoreable bands in A. persicus and H. huso, respectively. Approximately 30% of markers in A. persicus and 29.6% H. huso were polymorphic. No sex specific makers were identified. The results of the present study suggest that the sex chromosomes are not extensively differentiated in sturgeon species, or possibly the methods utilized were not sufficiently sensitive to recognize them. © 2011 Progress in Biological Sciences, Vol 1, No.1, 55-60