Species‐specific PCR primers for the mitochondrial genome control region hypervariable region 1 of the reef fish Lutjanus sebae

Lutjanus sebae is an important commercial and recreational fish found throughout the Indo‐West Pacific region. Using universal primers for the mitochondrial genome control region hypervariable region 1 (HVR1), we isolated a 385‐bp fragment of HVR1 then designed specific primers near each end of this sequence in the conserved regions flanking the hypervariable region. These primers were shown to yield good quantity and quality of product and to be species specific. Of 20 L. sebae studied, there were eight segregating sites and eight haplotypes. These primers will provide a useful tool for population genetics studies, identification of larvae and eggs and for wildlife forensics.