A strain-specific and a sex-associated STS marker for Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus, Osteoglossidae)

A sex-associated amplified fragment length polymorphism and a strain-specific random amplified polymorphic DNA marker were identified from Asian arowana (dragonfish; Scleropages formosus Muller & Schlegel) by screening pooled genomic DNA samples from three different strains as well as males and females respectively. Both markers were cloned, sequenced and successfully converted into sequence-tagged-site (STS) markers. The strain-specific STS marker could be applied to differentiate the Indonesian golden strain of Asian arowana from the green and blood-red strains before the stage when colours become identifiable. Individuals from the green strain could be sexed with an efficiency of 82.7% using the sex-associated STS marker. Thus, populations with preferred sex ratios can be formed without the need of rearing a large number of fish.