Genetic comparison of Iranian and Azeri populations of the oriental bream Abramis brama orientalis (Berg) using microsatellites

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare, levels of genetic polymorphism between Iranian and Azeri bream (Abramis brama orientalis) populations using five microsatellite loci. The reduced number of alleles in the Iranian populations compared with the Azeri population led us to infer that the genetic variability of the Iranian stocks has been reduced due to inbreeding and genetic drift. Significant population differentiation (Fst) was observed between the Azeri and the Iranian populations, which could be explained by the higher number of alleles in the Azeri population. Significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were found at more loci in the Iranian populations than the Azeri population. Beyond the hypothesis of null alleles, the heterozygote deficiency may have arisen due to breeding between related individuals in the Iranian populations. This investigation represents the first approach to the knowledge of the genetic variability of Iranian and Azeri bream populations using microsatellite markers, and the reported results could be of interest for management and conservation programmes of this species in Iran.