Distribution and Phenotypic Correlates of Variation at Enzyme Coding Loci in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from the Lower Laurentian Great Lakes

Abstract

The distribution of variation at 37 enzyme coding loci was determined in six samples of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from hatchery and natural sources. Significant heterogeneity in allele frequencies was detected among samples of Lower Laurentian Great Lakes rainbow trout. Geographical proximity was a poor predictor of genetic similarity among samples. The adaptive significance of two loci was examined in 16 experimental families. Rainbow trout homozygous for an allele at a phosphoglucomutase structural gene (Pgm1-s), which results in no detectable activity of phosphoglucomutase (PGM1) in all tissues where this locus is normally expressed (e.g. muscle), were larger than those heterozygous or homozygous for the active allele. However, no significant differences in asymmetry of four bilateral meristic traits were detected between fish with different PGM1 phenotypes. Rainbow trout with PGM1 in liver because of a regulatory gene, Pgm1-t(b), were marginally larger than those without the allele. These data suggest a correlation between biochemical genetic variation and phenotypic characteristics associated with fitness.