DNA Barcoding of Commercially Important Salmon and Trout Species (Oncorhynchus and Salmo) from North America

The present study investigated the ability of DNA barcoding to reliably identify the seven commercially important salmon and trout species (genera Oncorhynchus and Salmo) in North America. More than 1000 salmonid reference samples were collected from a wide geographic range. DNA extracts from these samples were sequenced for the standard 650 bp barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI). DNA barcodes showed low intraspecies divergences (mean, 0.26%; range, 0.04−1.09%), and the mean congeneric divergence was 32-fold greater, at 8.22% (range, 3.42−12.67%). The minimum interspecies divergence was always greater than the maximum intraspecies divergence, indicating that these species can be reliably differentiated using DNA barcodes. Furthermore, several shorter barcode regions (109−218 bp), termed “mini-barcodes”, were identified in silico that can differentiate all eight species, providing a potential means for species identification in heavily processed products.