PROBLEMS OF USING MOLECULAR-GENETIC METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF FISH FEEDING

The aim of the study was an approbation of molecular-genetic methods for an analysis of contents of fish stomachs of Abyssocottus korotneffi Berg, 1906, as an example.

Methods. Sampling carried out at the board of the research vessel «G.Yu. Vereshchagin» in August 2017 in the northern basin of Lake Baikal. To study a fish feeding, testing of a DNA extraction methods and PCR conditions was performed. A fragments of the CO1 gene were amplified from total DNA isolated from the contents of the fish stomachs. The composition of food was studied based on the analysis of nucleotide sequences cloned into the plasmid pJET vector.

Results. One species of amphipods closest to Odontogammarus calculator Dybowsky, 1874 was detected in fish food. In addition, sequences of cottoid fish were found in the studied samples. To date, information about a presence of fish in the food spectrum of this species was absent.

Conclusions. The main problem of using molecular-genetic methods in studies of fish food spectrum is not enough number of data of voucher sequences of the CO1 gene of Baikal organisms in the genetic databases. Despite on advantages of analysis of the CO1 gene in studies of fish food feeding, this approach does not allow to distinguish between organisms of the same species.

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