Assessing the genetic structure of three Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) stocks by microsatellite markers

Ten highly variable microsatellite loci were used to investigate one common population and two selected hatchery populations of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. All of the 10 microsatellite loci screened in this study showed marked polymorphism. A total of 76 different alleles were observed over all loci. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3.67 to 8.67. The average of observed (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.610 to 1.000, and from 0.536 to 0.821, respectively. A total of 14 unique alleles were found in common population, and 3 unique alleles each were found in susceptible and resistant populations. The effective number of alleles varied from 2.14 for Po35 to 5.60 for Po91. The number of genotypes ranged from 5.33 for Po56 to 12.33 for Pol. Compared with the common population, the two selected hatchery populations, susceptible and resistant, showed significant genetic changes such as fewer alleles per locus, a smaller number of low-frequency alleles, and a small number of unique alleles and a small number of genotypes, all indicative of a reduction in genetic diversity. Intentional or accidental release of selected Japanese flounders into natural sea areas might result in disturbance of local gene pools and loss of genetic variability. So, it is needed to monitor genetic variability of selected hatchery populations for the conservation of natural Japanese flounder resources. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.