Do North Atlantic eels show parallel patterns of spatially varying selection?

Decline of North Atlantic eels: a fatal synergy?

Panmictic species pose particular problems for conservation because their welfare can be addressed effectively only on a global scale. We recently documented by means of microsatellite analysis that the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is not panmictic but instead shows genetic isolation by distance. In this study, we extended the analysis to the American eel (A. rostrata) by applying identical...

Microsatellite variation and differentiation in North Atlantic eels.

We screened 11 populations of American, European, and Icelandic eels (Anguillidae) for allelic variation and genetic divergence at six polymorphic microsatellite loci. Within either of the two recognized Anguilla species in the North Atlantic (rostrata in the Americas, anguilla in Europe), population genetic structure was statistically significant but weak; fully 95% of the total genetic variat...

Natural selection influences AFLP intraspecific genetic variability and introgression patterns in Atlantic eels.

Investigating patterns of genetic variation in hybridizing species provides an opportunity to understand the impact of natural selection on intraspecific genetic variability and interspecific gene exchange. The Atlantic eels Anguilla rostrata and A. anguilla each occupy a large heterogeneous habitat upon which natural selection could differentially shape genetic variation. They also produce via...

Differential timing of gene expression regulation between leptocephali of North Atlantic eels in the Sargasso Sea

Mitochondrial DNA differentiation in North Atlantic eels: Population genetic consequences of an unusual life history pattern.

A survey of restriction site polymorphism in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the American eel Anguilla rostrata showed no genetic divergence among samples from a 4000-km stretch of North America coastline. Lack of geographic differentiation in mtDNA over such a large area contrasts sharply with results for terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates and is most likely attributable to the extraordin...