192 
Fishery Bulletin 106(2) 
Furthermore, these techniques can be integrated with 
environmental and oceanographic data to allow almost 
immediate investigation of spawning times, spawning 
locations, and larval dispersal. The ability to identify 
Centropristis larvae to species throughout their range will 
provide a foundation for future studies where early life 
history stages of fishes are used to investigate questions 
related to fisheries management. This study also provides 
a model for the future development of species-specific 
assays for other commercially important fish species. 
1011 1213141516 
B 1 2 3 4 5 6 
7 8 
1353 bp«» * ^ 
1078 bpr - 
603 bp ■ 
310 bp . 
rr ;**..*«$ I -. 'V 
: 500 bp 
*/450 bp 
1X400 bp 
^350 bp 
— -300 bp 
250 bp 
200 bp 
150 bp 
100 bp 
50 bp 
Figure 6 
(A) Cross-reactivity test of genus-specific polymerase chain 
reaction (PCR) primers (CentropFWl and CentropRevl) used for 
restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP) of 
black sea bass (Centropristis striata ), bank sea bass (C. ocyurus), 
and rock sea bass (C. philadelphica). The gel was loaded in the 
following order: lanes 1 and 16, DNA molecular weight marker 
III (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN); lane 2, C. striata; lane 
3, C. ocyurus; lane 4, C. philadelphica; lanes 5-14, sand perch 
( Diplectrum formosum ), spottail pinfish ( Diplodus holbrooki), red 
grouper ( Epinephelus morio ), rock hind ( Epinephelus adscensio- 
nis), speckled hind (Epinephelus drummondhayi), butter hamlet 
( Hypoplectrus unicolor), gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis), 
pygmy sea bass ( Serraniculus pumilio), tattler (Serranus phoebe), 
and belted sandfish ( Serranus subligarius); lane 15, no DNA con- 
trol. (B) PCR-RFLP analysis of Centropristis ITS1, 5.8S, and 
ITS2 rDNA amplified with genus-specific primers described in 
the text. Each PCR product was digested with the restriction 
enzyme Alu I. Lane 1, DNA molecular weight marker IX (Roche 
Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN); lanes 2-4 PCR products for C. 
striata, C. ocyurus, and C. philadelphica; lanes 5-7, Alu I digests 
of PCR products for C. striata, C. ocyurus, and C. philadelphica; 
lane 8, 50-bp ladder. 
Acknowledgments 
We thank the crew of the RV Cape Hatteras for assis- 
tance at sea and the crew of the SEAMAP-SA Coastal 
Survey based at South Carolina Department of 
Natural Resources in Charleston, SC, for providing 
juvenile-adult specimens of C. philadelphica. Collec- 
tion of larvae at sea was supported by funding from 
the National Science Foundation through OCE 9876565 
to C. Jones, S. Thorrold, A. Valle-Levinson, and J. 
Hare. Additional funding for this project was 
provided by Office of National Marine Sanc- 
tuaries and by Grays Reef National Marine 
Sanctuary. 
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