Stability of population structure and genetic diversity across generations assessed by microsatellites among sympatric populations of landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

It may often be necessary to perform genetic analyses of temporal replicates to estimate the significance of spatial variation independently from that of temporal variation in order to ensure the reliability of estimates of a defined population structure. Nevertheless, temporal studies of genetic diversity remain scarce in the literature relative to the plethora of empirical studies of population structure. In vertebrates, a limited number of studies have specifically assessed the temporal stability of population structure for more than one generation. In this study, we performed a microsatellite analysis of DNA obtained from archived scales to compare the population structure among four sympatric landlocked populations of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) over a time frame of three to five generations. The same patterns of allele frequency distribution, θ, R _ST and genetic distance estimates were observed among populations for two time periods, confirming the temporal stability of the population structure. Despite population declines and stocking during this period, no statistically significant changes in intrapopulation genetic diversity were apparent. This study illustrates the feasibility and usefulness of microsatellite analysis of temporal samples, not only to infer changes of intrapopulation genetic diversity, but also to assess the stability of population structure over a time frame of several generations.     

Fine-scale genetic structure of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) using microsatellite markers: effects of restocking and natural recolonization

1. An important goal of conservation biology is to preserve the evolutionary potential of a species by maintaining natural levels of genetic diversity. Here, we assess the population differentiation in the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, listed in Annex II of the European Habitats Directive, to provide valuable information for its conservation in Normandy (France).
2. Samples collected from 10 natural sites revealed that 13 of 14 microsatellite loci were polymorphic. Significant differentiation among populations was detected ( F _ST = 0.054, P  <   0.001), and all F _ST pairwise comparisons except one were significant. A genetic split was observed between populations inhabiting streams with limestone geology compared to those inhabiting streams with siliceous geology, which could reflect adaptative differences.
3. Hatchery stocks used for the restocking of two rivers were genetically distinct from native stocks.
4. Analysis of three stream habitats restored in 1995 showed that all were recolonized naturally by wild salmon from geographically close populations and no founder effects were detected. Allelic richness was similar between recolonized and wild populations.
5. From a management perspective, our study revealed that restoration of habitat is very effective to recreate new populations in rivers from which salmon have disappeared and that natural recolonization can be fast and effective in terms of genetic diversity.     

Spawning behaviour of a farmed escaped female Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Excavation of stranded redds revealed differences in spawning behaviour between farmed and wild Atlantic salmon. The redd of a farmed fish contained more egg pockets (nine v . average of two) and fewer eggs per pocket (averages: 459 v . 707). No other pocket measures differed.     

Allelic and haplotypic diversity at the major histocompatibility class II within domesticated Australian Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Variation within the major histocompatibility (MH) class II alpha gene ( Sasa-DAA ) was compared between domesticated Australian Atlantic salmon and their ancestral Canadian population. The level of Sasa-DAA and MH class II beta gene ( Sasa-DAB ) sequence variation was also examined within the Australian population and compared with that published for European Atlantic salmon populations. In contrast to variation previously reported for non-coding microsatellite loci, a high level of MH class II allelic variation has been maintained within the domesticated Australian populations. Furthermore, a high level of Sasa-DAA and Sasa-DAB allele sequence diversity was also observed and exceeded that reported for other cultured Atlantic salmon populations. The number of Sasa-DAB allele sequences (14) surpassed the number of Sasa-DAA allele sequences (9) to produce 14 unique class II haplotypes. We conclude that the Australian Atlantic salmon populations show high MH class II allelic and haplotypic variation compared with both its ancestral Canadian population and other cultured Atlantic salmon populations.     

Migratory behaviour of wild and farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) during spawning

Migratory behaviour at spawning of wild and newly-escaped farmed Atlantic salmon was analysed by radio telemetry in the River Alta, North Norway. Spawning areas were located by aerial surveys. Farmed females moved significantly more than wild females ( P <0.01). There was no such difference between the two groups of males. About 83% of the wild fish stayed within identified spawning areas for 1 day or longer. The corresponding figure for farmed salmon was only 43% ( P <0.05). Wild salmon stayed 8.1 days inside spawning areas and farmed salmon 5.2 days. The present results suggest that escaped farmed salmon had reduced spawning success compared with wild fish.     

Thyroid hormone levels in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) during the return migration from the ocean to spawn

Serum thyroid hormone levels were determined in adult Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) of both sexes caught in the ocean and at a sequence of locations on their return migration to spawn. Tri-iodothyronine (T₃) levels were greatest in fish caught in coastal or estuarine waters or in a river near head-of-tide. T₃ levels were lower in fish caught in rivers throughout the angling season and lowest in those captured entering a tributary near spawning. Thyroxine (T₄) levels were lowest in immature fish captured in the ocean in winter but raised in fish captured in spring; many of the latter group showed endocrine evidence of their becoming sexually mature. T₄ levels were greatest in fish captured in coastal waters and progressively lower in fish captured in an estuary, near head-of-tide and in rivers. T₄ levels in fish captured at tributary entry near spawning exceeded those in fish caught in rivers earlier in the year. In general, these data support the hypothesis that motor activity level in migrant fish is a determinant of thyroid status.     

Patterns of growth and smolting in autumn migrants from a Scottish population of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.

In late November 1990 salmon parr, Salmo salar L., from the Girnock Burn in northern Scotland were either caught on their feeding territories (n=25) or trapped during downstream migration (n= 18). They were then housed in a laboratory rearing tank and their food intake and growth rates were tracked, until their smolting status was ascertained in the following May. Female fish were predominant in both groups; although the range of ages was the same, the total age of migrants was 2+ while that of residents was 1+. In November, compared to resident fish of the same year class, migrants were larger, heavier and in better condition. Although growth rates dropped during the winter in both groups before increasing in spring, migrants ate more and consistently grew faster than residents. In seawater tolerance tests conducted in May, more residents than migrants failed to adapt. These results confirm the suggestion that autumn migrants smolt in the following spring and suggest that they represent the faster-growing component of their cohort.     

Mating success of alternative maturation phenotypes in male Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar

Summary Mature male parr successfully fertilized eggs of anadromous female Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, in competition with anadromous males under simulated natural conditions. Mating situations were created in which mature male parr and anadromous males competing for the opportunity to spawn with an anadromous female differed in allelic forms of the same enzyme. Females deposited eggs into a sequence of 3 or 4 eggs nests. The mean proportion of eggs in a redd fertilized by parr increased with increasing numbers of parr present at a redd, reaching 23% at male parr: anadromous male ratios of 20:1. Single male parr fertilized, on average, 5% of the eggs in a redd. The proportion of eggs in an egg nest fertilized by parr also depended upon the order of egg nest construction, such that parr mating success was highest at the initial nest constructed and lowest at the final nest. Parr have relatively high fertilization success for their size when compared with the smaller maturation phenotype of other salmonids.     

Physical mapping of three minisatellite sequences in the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) genome

We have determined the localization of three minisatellite loci SsBglIIL.6 , SsBglIIU.20 and SsPstL.26 in the Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) genome by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH analysis of the SsBglIIL.6 and SsBglIIU.20 minisatellites revealed that they are both located in single chromosome pairs allowing their direct identification; in contrast, the SsPstIL.26 probe hybridizes to four different chromosomal pairs. The analysis of chromosomal location of minisatellite sequences could be very useful for studying structural changes that have taken place during chromosome evolution in the karyotype of Salmo salar .     

A linkage map of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) reveals an uncommonly large difference in recombination rate between the sexes

A genetic linkage map of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was constructed, using 54 microsatellites and 473 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. The mapping population consisted of two full-sib families within one paternal half-sib family from the Norwegian breeding population. A mapping strategy was developed that facilitated the construction of separate male and female maps, while retaining all the information contributed by the dominant AFLP markers. By using this strategy, we were able to map a significant number of the AFLP markers for which all informative offspring had two heterozygous parents; these markers then served as bridges between the male and female maps. The female map spanned 901 cM and had 33 linkage groups, while the male spanned 103 cM and had 31 linkage groups. Twenty-five linkage groups were common between the two maps. The construction of the genetic map revealed a large difference in recombination rate between females and males. The ratio of female recombination rate vs. male recombination rate was 8.26, the highest ratio reported for any vertebrate. This map constitutes the first linkage map of Atlantic salmon, one of the most important aquaculture species worldwide.     

Use of differential expression data for identification of novel immune relevant expressed sequence tag-linked microsatellite markers in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Despite the large number of genes contributing to the immune response, wildlife immunogenetic studies have tended to focus mostly on the major histocompatibility complex-related genes. Here, we utilized previously published microarray and competitive RNA hybridization information to identify 3750 immune relevant Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) expressed sequence tags. We then identified those expressed sequence tags containing microsatellites and subsequently designed 48 primer pairs and tested them for polymorphism in Atlantic salmon. Altogether, 16 polymorphic markers were characterized, with allele numbers ranging from two to 18, and these 16 loci were further tested in five other salmonid species.     

Genetic differentiation among natural European populations of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., from drainages of the Atlantic Ocean

Previously published allelic frequencies at four polymorphic protein coding loci were used as a basis for examining genetic relationships among 19 European populations of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.--exclusive of Baltic drainages--from the Barents Sea to Spain. The data did not support a model of distinct ancestral (e.g. Boreal and Celtic) origins, but were consistent with all populations descending from a single ancestral group within this region with genetically diverged populations drawn together through limited local migrations.     

A study of temporal genetic variation in a natural population of Atlantic salmon in the River Bush, Northern Ireland

Temporal genetic variation in River Bush Atlantic salmon was low and much less than among geographically discrete samples reported from elsewhere.     

Hyperplasia and hypertrophy in the growth of skeletal muscle in juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.

Both red and white muscle fibre numbers in juvenile Atlantic salmon increased gradually with fish length throughout the freshwater growth period. Mean fibre area increased as fish grew to 6.5 cm f.l. , but thereafter was unrelated to fish length. Hyperplasia was most obvious when fish were growing fastest, and was the dominant growth process in fish over 6.5 cm f.l. Hypertrophy was most important when growth was slow, as in autumn and winter.
Mean white fibre area was significantly smaller in deep muscle than at medial and superficial sites. Total cross-sectional area of red, white and total trunk muscle increased with fish length. The ratio of red: white cross-sectional area increased with fish length to a plateau at about 10% after 6.5 cm f.l.     

Muscle development in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) embryos and the effect of temperature on muscle cellularity

Salmon eggs were incubated at 5, 8 or 11° C from fertilization to hatching. At Gorodilov stages 25, 27, 29, 31 and 33 transverse sections of whole embryos (at somite level 10–15) were prepared for histochemistry and electron microscopy. At every stage up to hatching, cross–sectional areas of the embryos were not different between temperatures, and from stage 27 onwards there was also no difference in the ratio of white to red muscle. However, there were more muscle fibres but of smaller average diameter in both the red and white muscle for the colder temperature embryos. At hatching there were also more nuclei (per cross–section) in the colder embryos but more nuclei per muscle fibre in the warmer embryos. In all cases the 8° C embryos were intermediate between 5 and 11° C embryos in their muscle parameters. Fast and slow muscle fibres could only be distinguished in the embryos by alkali–stable ATPase reactions. Succinic dehydrogenase activity was low in embryonic fish. No differences between the temperature groups were detected in the histochemical reactions for either ATPase or succinic dehydrogenase activities.     

Observations of the biology and parasites of postsmolt Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, from the Norwegian sea

The main food items of postsmolt Atlantic salmon caught in the Norwegian sea during summer 1991 were Parathemisto spp. and herring ( Chipca harengus ). The most prevalent parasite species were Chloromyxion sp., Apatemon sp., H. adunction, A simplex and I. salmonis .