INHERITANCE OF ALLOZYMES IN ATLANTIC HERRING (CLUPEA HARENGUS HARENGUS)

Abstract

Progeny from single pair crosses of Atlantic herring were examined to determine the heritability of genetic variation at seven polymorphic allozyme loci. Mendelian inheritance of codominant autosomal alleles was established for IDH-2, LDH-1, LDH-2, ME-2, PGM-1, and PGI-2. This demonstration of Mendelian inheritance is essential for accurate interpretation of allozymic variation among natural populations of this pelagic species.

Genetic analysis of enzyme polymorphisms in herring (Clupea harengus L.)

“…The unexpected genotypes that appeared in particular matings in this study were present in the pool of parental fish and did not involve new allele types. This, together with the fact that no unexpected progeny types were reported by Kornfield et a!., (1981), in the previous study on the inheritance of the same loci in the North West Atlantic herring, might suggest that the anomalies were the result of contamination. If indeed, this was the case, the low chi-square values with non-significant probabilities for all the crosses would seem to indicate that contamination was minimal.…”

“…Although a variety of polymorphic enzymes exist in the herring, Clupea harengus L., because of the technical problems associated with the breeding and rearing of this species in captivity, to date only one attempt has been made to study the formal genetics of this species (Kornfield et a!., 1981).…”