Investigation the possibility of sex marker recognition in Iranian sturgeon Acipenser persicus (Borodin, 1897) by AFLP method

Sturgeon fish are valuable species, especially for Caviar and also meat production purpose. Because of the long maturation period, sex determination at the early stages of their life could significantly increase the profit of the culturing system. Moreover understanding the sex determining system of the sturgeon is still questionable and it is necessary to distinguish the sex related fragments. In this study the genome of Iranian sturgeon Acipenser persicus was assayed with AFLP marker and sixteen primer combinations. Results revealed no sex specific markers. In addition, the primer combination named (P-ACA; M-CAG) had the highest number of fragments and polymorphism indices and could be used in other studies on the genome of this animal. Our results suggest that either the sex chromosomes do not exist or if exist, they are weakly differentiated in the sturgeon genome.