Historical analysis ofPanI in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): temporal stability of allele frequencies in the southeastern part of the species distribution

Abstract

We investigated temporal genetic differentiation at the pantophysin (Pan I) locus in four Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) populations from the southeastern part of the species distribution: the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Faroe Plateau, and the Faroe Bank. Historical otolith collections enabled investigation of allele frequency variation over time periods up to 69 years employing Pan I primers specifically designed for partially degraded DNA. Small and nonsignificant temporal changes in Pan I allele frequencies were observed in the four populations. Simultaneous microsatellite analysis revealed similar temporal genetic stability with temporal FSTvalues ranging from 0 to 0.006, suggesting limited demographic changes. Sea surface temperature, which has been suggested as the primary driver for the geographical distribution of Pan I alleles in cod, showed no long-term trend although temperature has increased since the mid-1990s. Our study demonstrates that populations in the southeastern part of the species range has been characterized by very high frequencies of the Pan IAallele for many decades, and accordingly, Pan I serves as a reliable marker for genetic stock identification on a macrogeographical scale.