Novel mitochondrial DNA primers for identification of population trends in longnose suckers (Catostomus catostomus) and multispecies identification

Abstract

The understudied longnose sucker has received no attention by the International Union for Conservation of Nature wherein almost 55 % of fish in this family have been classified as threatened, endangered, extinct, or experiencing population declines. Understanding population trends of the ecologically diverse longnose sucker is critical for preservation of this unique species, as it hybridizes readily with congenerics. Here we describe three novel pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) primers with which we amplified genes from four species: longnose and white suckers, round whitefish, and slimy sculpin. Nucleotide substitutions ranged from 10 to 111 between individual longnose suckers and among various species. Hybridization may be occurring, as a morphologically identified longnose sucker contained white sucker mtDNA. Species level identification using these primers within a larger scope of landscape studies is possible as these species belong to three orders, showing the utility of these primers on a variety of taxa.