Abstract
A natural population of the brook lamprey, Lampetra planeri, was assayed for electrophoretically detectable variation at 30 enzyme loci. The mean heterozygosity per locus of this primitive vertebrate, a member of the Agnatha, was found to be 0.076 ± 0.031, a value similar to those recorded for other vertebrates. The high chromosome numbers recorded for this and related species have been attributed to polyploidy, but our studies do not indicate the existence of large numbers of duplicated loci. Indeed, several enzymes that are encoded by duplicate loci in other vertebrate species appear to be encoded by single loci in the lamprey. It is suggested that studies on the biology and taxonomy of lampreys will benefit greatly from an electrophoretic approach.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allendorf, F. W., 1978. Protein polymorphism and the rate of loss of duplicate gene expression. Nature 272: 76–78.
Allendorf, F. W. & Utter, F. M., 1979. Population genetics. In: Fish Physiology, Vol. VIII, eds. D. J. Randall, J. S. Hoar & R. Brett, pp. 407–454. Academic Press, London & New York.
Allendorf, F. W., Utter, F. M. & May, B. P., 1975. Gene duplication within the family Salmonidae. II. Detection and determination of the genetic control of duplicate loci through inheritance studies and the examination of populations. In: Isozymes IV: Genetics and evolution, ed. C. L. Markert, pp. 415–432. Academic Press, New York.
Atkin, N. B. & Ohno, S., 1967. DNA values of four primitive chordates. Chromosoma 17: 1–10.
Bardack, D. & Zangerl, R., 1971. Lampreys in the fossil record. In: The biology of lampreys 1, eds M. W. Hardisty and I. C. Potter, pp. 67–84. Academic Press, London and New York.
Bird, D. J. & Potter, I. C., 1979. Metamorphosis in the paired species of lampreys, Lampetra fluviatilis (L.) and Lampetra planeri (Block) 2. Quantitative data for body proportions, weights, lengths and sex ratios. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 65: 145–160.
Ferris, S. D. & Whitt, G. S., 1977. Loss of duplicate gene expression after polyploidisation. Nature 265: 258–260.
Ferris, S. D. & Whitt, G. S., 1978. Phylogeny of tetraploid catostomid fishes based on the loss of duplicate gene expression. Syst. Zool. 27: 189–206.
Fisher, S. E., Shaklee, J. B., Ferris, S. D. & Whitt, G. S., 1980. Evolution of five multilocus isozyme systems in the chordates. Genetica 52/53: 73–85.
Haldane, J. B. S., 1933. The part played by recurrent mutation in evolution. Am. Nat. 67: 5–19.
Hardisty, M. W. & Huggins, R. J., 1970. Larval growth in the river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis. J. Zool. 161: 549–559.
Hardisty, M. W. & Potter, I. C., 1971a. The general biology of adult lampreys. In: The biology of lampreys 1, eds M. W. Hardisty & I. C. Potter, pp. 127–206. Academic Press, London & New York.
Hardisty, M. W. & Potter, I. C., 1971b. Paired species. In: The biology of lampreys 1, eds M. W. Hardisty & I. C. Potter, pp. 249–277. Academic Press, London & New York.
Harris, H. & Hopkinson, D. A., 1976. Handbook of enzyme electrophoresis in human genetics. North Holland, Amsterdam, New York and Oxford.
Hinegardner, R., 1968. Evolution of cellular DNA content in teleost fishes. Am. Nat. 102: 517–523.
Hinegardner, R., 1976. Evolution of genome size. In: Molecular evolution, ed. F. J. Ayala, pp. 179–199. Sinauer, Sunderland, Massachusetts.
Hopkinson, D. A., Edwards, Y. H. & Harris, H., 1976. The distributions of subunit numbers and subunit sizes of enzymes: a study of the products of 100 human gene loci. Ann. Hum. Genet. 39: 383–411.
Markert, C. L., Shaklee, J. B. & Whitt, G. S., 1975. Evolution of a gene. Science 189: 102–114.
Nei, M. & Roychoudhury, A. K., 1973. Probability of fixation of non-functional genes at duplicate loci. Am. Nat. 107: 362–372.
Nevo, E., 1978. Genetic variation in natural populations: patterns and theory. Theor. Pop. Biol. 13: 121–177.
Nogusa, S., 1960. A comparative study of the chromosomes in fishes with particular considerations on taxonomy and evolution. Mem. Kyoto Univ. Agric. 3: 1–62.
Ohno, S., 1970. Evolution by gene duplication. Springer, Heidelberg.
Ohno, S., 1974. Protochordata, Cyclostomata and Pisces. In: Animal Cytogenetics 4: Chordata 1, ed. B. John, pp. 1–92. Borntraeger, Berlin & Stuttgart.
Ohno, S., Wolf, U. & Atkin, N. B., 1968. Evolution from fish to mammals by gene duplication. Hereditas 59: 169–187.
Potter, I. C. & Brown, I. D., 1975. Changes in haemoglobin electropherograms during the life cycle of two closely related lampreys. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B 51: 517–519.
Potter, I. C. & Robinson, E. S., 1971. The chromosomes. In: The biology of lampreys 1, eds M. W. Hardisty & I. C. Potter, pp. 279–293. Academic Press, London & New York.
Potter, I. C. & Rothwell, B., 1970. The mitotic chromosomes of the lamprey. Petromyzon marinus L. Experientia 26: 429–430.
Powell, J. R., 1975. Protein variation in natural populations of animals. Evol. Biol. 8: 79–119.
Roose, M. L. & Gottlieb, L. B., 1976. Genetic and biochemical consequences of polyploidy in Tragopogon. Evolution 30: 818–830.
Roose, M. L. & Gottlieb, L. B., 1978. Stability of structural gene number in diploid species with different amounts of nuclear DNA and different chromosome numbers. Heredity 40: 159–163.
Schmidtke, J., Weiler, C., Kunz, B. & Engel, W., 1977. Isozymes of a tunicate and a cephalochordate as a test of polyploidisation in chordate evolution. Nature 266: 532–533.
Shaw, C. R. & Prasad, R., 1970. Starch gel electrophoresis of enzymes — a compilation of recipes. Biochem. Genet. 4: 297–320.
Taylor, K. M., 1967. The chromosomes of some lower chordates. Chromosoma 21: 181–188.
Ward, R. D., 1977. Relationship between enzyme heterozygosity and quaternary structure. Biochem. Genet. 15: 123–135.
Ward, R. D. & Beardmore, J. A., 1977. Protein variation in the plaice, Pleuronectes platessa L. Genet. Res. 30: 45–62.
Ward, R. D., McAndrew, B. J. & Wallis, G. P., 1978. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase variation in the brook lamprey, Lampetra planeri (Bloch) (Petromyzone, Agnatha): Evidence for a trimeric enzyme structure. Biochem. Genet. 17: 251–256.
Zanandrea, G., 1959a. Recenti ricerche sulle forme ‘appaite’ di lamprede dell'Italia e del Danubio. Boll. Zool. 26: 545–554.
Zanandrea, G., 1959b. Speciation among lampreys. Nature 184: 380.
Zanandrea, G. & Capanna, E., 1964. Contributo alla cariologia del genere Lampetra. Boll. Zool. 31: 669–677.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ward, R.D., McAndrew, B.J. & Wallis, G.P. Enzyme variation in the brook lamprey, Lampetra planeri (Bloch), a member of the vertebrate group Agnatha. Genetica 55, 67–73 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00134007
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00134007