Blood plasma protein pattern of the green asian arowana (Scleropages formosus)

Abstract

The Asian green arowana (Scleropages formosus) is an important ornamental fish. Currently, sex identification of this species is still a major problem in arowana farming due to lack sexual dimorphism which hinders sex selection during culture. In this study, the protein pattern of the blood plasma which consists of major hormones of the arowana were determined with SOS-PAGE, revealing an apparent band at approximately 200kDa in arowana samples with unknown gender. Immunoprobing with a monoclonal Anti-Vtg (Zebrafish) failed to detect the protein of interest, perhaps due to weak cross-reactivity and specificity of the antibody against arowana. This band possibly represents Vitellogenin (Vtg) based on the molecular weight and reference from other piscine species.