Identification and partial characterization of a sex specific protein in Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus)

Gender identification of fish species is carried out mainly by examining external morphological characteristics, which in general, it is very complex and not always a reliable approach. Electrophoresis of plasma proteins can be used as an alternative and useful molecular tool for a more precise sex determination. The presence of female specific proteins in the plasma is a starting point for the application of this technique. In this study, reducing discontinuous sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was applied to analyze plasma proteins of male and female koi carp (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus). Image analyses of electrophoregrams with resolved plasma proteins by SDS-PAGE showed that it is an appropriate technique to discriminate male from female samples. It is based on the presence of apolipoprotein B-100 which can be used as a suitable marker. Further amino acid characterization of apolipoprotein B-100 confirmed that it is a specific protein for female individuals.