Identification of novel Z/W chromosome-specific markers from the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii

The giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is a commercially cultured species in China. A sex chromosome-specific marker is crucial for sex identification and distinguishing sex chromosomes. Here, based on the results of reduced-representation genome sequencing and genome survey of M. rosenbergii, we identified steady sex-linked markers. Further nucleotide alignment analysis revealed 83.42% nucleotide similarity between the amplified W- and Z-chromosome fragments. qPCR confirmed that Z chromosome-specific fragments were present in males approximately twice as often compared to females. Similarly, the W chromosome-specific fragments were present in super females approximately twice as often compared to females. Our findings elucidate the ZW/ZZ sex determination type and contribute to exploring sex-related or sex-determining genes present on the sex chromosomes of M. rosenbergii.