ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to select the most suitable reference genes for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) of spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus), an important commercial marine fish in Pacific Asia, under normal physiological and salinity stress conditions. A total of 9 candidate reference genes (HPRT, GAPDH, EF1A, TUBA, RPL7, RNAPol II, B2M, ACTB and 18S rRNA) were analyzed by qRT-PCR in 10 tissues (intestine, muscle, stomach, brain, heart, liver, gill, kidney, pectoral fins and spleen) of L. maculatus. Four algorithms, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and comparative ΔCt method, were used to evaluate the expression stability of the candidate reference genes. The results showed the
