A novel growth hormone 1 gene-derived probe for Oncorhynchus masou formosanus distinguished from the Oncorhynchus subspecies

Traditional mitochondrial 16S rRNA is commonly used in many species identification studies. However, it is difficult to apply to the phylogenetic studies among the Oncorhynchus subspecies, which is a crucial need for management purposes for Oncorhynchus masou formosanus, Taiwan salmon. In this study, we have developed an improved species identification method for Taiwan salmon distinguished with other Oncorhynchus subspecies tested by exploiting PCR for growth hormone (GH) 1 gene. By comparing DNA sequences for GH1 from 11 species of Oncorhynchus subspecies we designed novel PCR primers that exploit differences between Taiwan salmon and other Oncorhynchus subspecies. Therefore, the technique is an important tool in the management of populations of the endangered land-locked Taiwan salmon preventing from their possible hybrids with other Oncorhynchus subspecies once tested.