Abstract

This study represents population genetic analysis of the common kilka Clupeonella cultriventris (Nordmann, 1840) in the southwest Caspian Sea (Gilan province). A total of 60 specimens of adult common kilka were sampled from two seasons (spring and summer), 2010. Fifteen pairs of microsatellites previously developed for American shad (Alosa sapidissima), Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and Sardine (Sardina pilchardus) were tested on genomic DNA of common kilka. Alleles frequencies, the fixation index R_ST, observed and expected heterozygosity were determined at disomic loci amplified from fin tissue samples. Five pairs of primers (Cpa6, Cpa8, Cpa104, Cpa125 and AcaC051) as polymorphic loci were used to analyze the genetic variation of the common kilka population. Analyses revealed that average of alleles per locus was 14.4 (range 5 to 21 alleles per locus in regions). All sampled regions contained private alleles. The average observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.153 and 0.888, respectively. All loci significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Based on AMOVA, R_ST values was found to be 0.113 (Nm=1.96, P<0.01). The genetic distance between populations was 0.344, which indicates that the genetic difference among the studied populations is pronounced. These results support the existence of different genetic populations along the Caspian Sea coast (Guilan province).

Key words: Population genetic, Southwest Caspian Sea, microsatellite, Clupeonellacultriventris.