APPLICATION OF POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION (PCR) USING RANDOM AMPLIFIEDPOLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) PRIMERS IN THE MOLECULAR-IDENTIFICATION OF SELECTED SARGASSUM SPECIES (PHAEOPHYTA, FUCALES)

The random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-P CR) was used for the molecular characterisation and identification of Sargassum spp. A total of 17 samples of Sargassum (Sargassaceae, Fucal es) was obtained from various localities around Peninsular Malaysia an d Singapore. On the basis of morphological characteristics, the sample s were tentatively grouped into five species: Sargassum baccularia, S, glaucescens, S, oligocystum, S, polycystum and S, siliquosum. By RAPD -PCR, five of 31 random primers tested generated reproducible amplific ation products, and polymorphic loci were detected by four of them (OP A02, OPA03, OPA04, OPA13). The RAPD-PCR profiles did not correlate wit h the morphological grouping into five species and extensive variation was detected between different isolates of the same species. A 450 ba se pair fragment generated using OPA13 was detected in 12 of 17 sample s of Sargassum. This fragment was also present in profiles from Turbin aria (Sargassaceae). This study suggests that RAPD-PCR is useful in di scriminating individual samples of the genus Sargassum and in developi ng fingerprints for them.