Isolation and characterization of partial mitochondrial CO1 gene from harpacticoid copepod, Leptocaris canariensis (Lang, 1965)

Abstract

Copepods are gaining attention as superior viable live feed for larviculture and as ecological bioindicators. One of the possible candidates from Malaysia is Leptocaris canariensis (Copepoda: Harpacticoida). However, little is known about the molecular aspect of this species. In this study, DNA of individual L. canariensis was extracted and the partial mitochondrial CO1 gene was successfully amplified using universal primers LCO-1490 and HCO-2198. A 582 bp partial mitochondrial CO1 gene sequence was obtained. Analysis of partial CO1 sequences of L. canariensis revealed 100% similarity among all the individual copepods, verifying the purity of samples and the consistency of the optimized extraction and amplification protocols done in this study. BLAST analysis confirmed that the obtained sequences were from CO1 region and of copepod origin (with E-value < e^-10). Phylogenetic analysis of L. canariensis along with selected outgroups from different taxa level further supports the purity of L. canariensis maintained and validates the taxonomy of L. canariensis up to the subclass level: Copepoda. This study serves as the first documentation of molecular studies done on harpacticoids from the genus Leptocaris. The availability of L. canariensis partial CO1 sequence as reference will spearheads many more research in various fields in the near future.  

Keywords: Harpacticoida, Leptocaris canariensis, CO1 gene, molecular identification.

Afr. J. Biotechnol Vol. 12 No. 50