USE OF RAPD MARKERS TO DETERMINE THE GENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS AMONG STURGEONS (ACIPENSERIDAE, PISCES)

RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) analysis was utilized to ident ify six sturgeon species. Amplifications with eight different primers gave reproducible electrophoretic patterns which could be regarded as a data-set consisting of monomorphic and polymorphic characters. Some of these characters were species-specific. Band-sharing analysis and n umerical taxonomy methods allowed us to generate a phenetic tree. Our results provided evidence that RAPD markers can be used to discriminat e species of sturgeons and indicated new possible systematic considera tions within the examined taxa, in agreement with their geographical d istribution and their inhabitancy system.