Linkage of two enzyme loci in the fish genus Poecilia (Teleostei:Poeciliidae).
The linkage of loci coding for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (PGD) is described in fish of the genus Poecilia (Teleostei:Poeciliidae) and designated Poecilia linkage group I. These two loci were shown to assort independently from six other informative markers (peptidase S, malate dehydrogenase 2 [soluble], mannose phosphate isomerase, parvalbumin 2, phosphoglucomutase, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 2) within the limits of the data obtained. Data for the linkage analyses were generated by scoring starch-gel electrophoretic phenotypes of the eight loci in reciprocal backcross hybrids obtained from matings between Poecilia perugiae and P. vittata. The linkage chi 2 for G6PD-PGD locus pairs was significant (P less than 0.001) in all reciprocal backcross hybrid broods (22.7% recombinants in the combined data), indicating linkage in both parental species. The linkage of G6PD and PGD in gene maps of the poeciliid genera Xiphophorus and Poeciliopsis documents homology of this linkage within the family. Linkages in salmonid and centrarchid fishes suggest conservation of this linkage group in most or all teleosts. The six additional indpendently assorting loci have been assigned to independent linkage groups in Xiphophorus; thus, no example of poeciliid linkage group divergence has yet been identified.