Ammar Yasser Alkhouli
Dar Althiker School, Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA
87% of the world’s fisheries are considered either fully exploited and do not promise an increase in production, or overexploited and may be salvaged if proper management programs are employed. This study aims to develop a rapid and accurate method based on the latest genomic techniques to assess fish abundance-levels in the Red Sea through DNA barcoding. A previous validation of the use of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene sequence as an identification marker is necessary. A small section of the caudal fin was excised from 112 fish samples from various locations in the Red Sea and DNA was extracted from each of these samples using the Phenol-Chloroform-Isoamyl Alcohol extraction method. The COI gene was later amplified using the polymerase chain reaction, and thereafter sent to Sanger Sequencing. Consensus sequences were produced using Geneious and individuals corresponding to the same species collected from different locations showed more similar profiles than individuals corresponding to close related species collected at the same site. Therefore, proving that a COI-based identification system could be used for assessing stock and diversity of Red Sea marine life. This provides critical information for the continuation of the project where 454 pyrosequencing will be used to determine the biomass and composition of complex large sample composed by ichthyoplankton, using the COI gene to assess the diversity. This technique will expedite the process of obtaining more accurate fisheries research.