Electrophoretic variants at four additional enzyme loci--two esterases (Est-2, Est-3), retinal lactate dehydrogenase (LDH-1) and mannose phosphate isomerase (MPI)--among three species and four subspecies of fish of the genus Xiphophorus were observed. Electrophoretic patterns in F1 hybrid heterozygotes confirmed the monomeric structures of MPI and the esterase and the tetrametric structure of L...

Zebras are members of the horse family. There are three species of zebras: the plains zebra Equus quagga, the Grevy's zebra E. grevyi and the mountain zebra E. zebra. The Grevy's zebra and the mountain zebra are endangered, and hybridization between the Grevy's zebra and the plains zebra has been documented, leading to a requirement for conservation genetic management within and between the spe...

Interbreeding between artificially-selected and wild organisms can have negative fitness consequences for the latter. In the Northwest Atlantic, farmed Atlantic salmon recurrently escape into the wild and enter rivers where small, declining populations of wild salmon breed. Most farmed salmon in the region derive from an ancestral source population that occupies a nonacidified river (pH 6.0-6.5...

We tested the hypothesis that a genetically determined increase in renal alpha-adrenergic receptor density might be a pathophysiologically important factor in the spontaneously hypertensive rat model of genetic hypertension. In a first study, we compared renal alpha 1 and alpha 2-adrenergic receptor density with systolic blood pressure in 45 rats of an F2 generation of Wistar-Kyoto x spontaneou...

Background: Selection of genotypically superior parents is most challenging task for the development potential hybrids. In conventional plant breeding, magnitude heterosis and inbreeding depression has been proved very effective in identifying vigorous parental combinations. Methods: The present investigation was carried out to study heterosis, residual forty sorghum crosses (F1s F2s) obtained ...

Saccharina (Laminaria) is one of the most important economic seaweeds. Previously, four genetic linkage maps of Saccharina have been constructed and five QTLs have been identified. However, they were not enough for its breeding. In this work, Saccharina longissima (♀) and Saccharina japonica (♂), which showed obvious differences in morphology and genetics, were applied in hybridization to yield...

Neutral genetic markers are useful for identifying species hybrids in natural populations, especially when used in conjunction with statistical methods like the one implemented in the software NEWHYBRIDS. Here, a short description of the extension of NEWHYBRIDS to dominant markers is given. Subsequently, an extensive series of simulations of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data is...

The BTBR T+ tf/J (BTBR) mouse strain is indifferent to exemplars of sweet, Polycose, umami, bitter, and calcium tastes, which share in common transduction by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). To investigate the genetic basis for this taste dysfunction, we screened 610 BTBR×NZW/LacJ F2 hybrids, identified a potent QTL on chromosome 17, and isolated this in a congenic strain. Mice carrying the...

To test the impact of genetic heterogeneity on cis- and trans-mediated mechanisms of gene expression regulation, we profiled the transcriptome of adipose tissue in 20 inbred congenic strains derived from diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats and Brown-Norway (BN) controls, which contain well-defined blocks (1Mb-183Mb) of genetic polymorphisms, and in 123 genetically heterogeneous rats of an (GKxBN)F...

It has been widely believed that Gregor Mendel’s experiments with peas (genus Pisum) were designed to discover the basic principles of heredity (genetics). Those more familiar with the history of genetics know that his work with peas sought to explain the laws governing the origin and development of hybrids (Hartl and Orel 1992, p. 245; Monaghan and Corcos 1985, p. 49–50; Stern and Sherwood 196...