Fish DNAs (IMAGE)

Terry Collins Assoc

Fish DNAs

Caption

Bits of DNA floating in 1 liter (~1 quart) of water matched 12 different fish species. The bar graph depicts the number of 'reads' for each DNA sequence. Menhaden gave the most, about 20,000 reads; conger eel gave the least, only a few hundred. More work is needed to understand how read numbers relate to fish numbers. 11 of the 12 DNA sequences matched a single species as shown in the picture. One of the 12 matched four closely related fish in the herring family ( Clupeidae).

Credit

Photo credits: (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: alewife (herring species), striped bass, American eel, mummichog; Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game: black sea bass, bluefish, Atlantic silverside; New Jersey Scuba Diving Association: oyster toadfish; Diane Rome Peeples: Atlantic menhaden, Tautog, Bay anchovy; H. Gervais: conger eel.

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