Premium
Serum Protein Variability in Geographically‐Defined Bluegill(Lepomis macrochirus) Populations
Author(s) -
Ney John J.,
Smith Lloyd L.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1976)105<281:spvigb>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - biology , lepomis macrochirus , transferrin , phenotype , ecology , population , allele , population genetics , zoology , transthyretin , genetics , fish <actinopterygii> , gene , fishery , demography , endocrinology , sociology
Blood serum proteins of mature bluegills, Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, collected from two stations in each of two east‐central Minnesota lakes were analyzed by polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. Transferrin and prealbumin proteins were found to be polymorphic. The transferrin polymorphism occurred only in Forest Lake fish and was extremely rare. Analogy with other fish species suggests that the bluegill transferrin system is controlled by two codominant alleles, one of which may be lethal in the homozygous state. Three prealbumin phenotypes consisting of single or double bands were observed at all stations. Phenotypic distribution did not conform to the expected Hardy‐Weinberg proportion for a system of two codominant alleles at three of four stations and was independent of factors of size, age, season, and method of capture at all stations. Phenotype varied significantly with sex at one Forest Lake station. Distribution of prealbumin phenotypes in female bluegills displayed a significant difference between Forest Lake stations but not between Big Carnelian Lake stations or between lakes. Electrophoretic analysis has the potential to clarify the adequacy of the geographic isolation concept in bluegill population definition.