Genetic Variation of the Siberian Sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt, 1869) in Aquaculture

Abstract

Genetic variation of aquaculture broodstocks of the Siberian sturgeon of different origin from 13 farms across the Russian Federation was assessed at five tetraploid microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial DNA control region. At present, in aquaculture stocks of Siberian sturgeon originating from the Lena and Ob rivers, a sharp decline of haplotype diversity is observed. The most part of aquaculture individuals carry two major haplotypes characteristic of the European part of Russia (the Lena aquaculture) and two haplotypes characteristic of the western part of Siberia (the Ob aquaculture). According to the results of the microsatellite analysis, in sturgeon aquaculture stock originating from the Lena River, two genetic clusters can be distinguished. One of these clusters is represented by the stocks composed of inbred individuals and, because of this, is characterized by depleted allelic variation and the loss of rare alleles.