Varying disease-mediated selection at different life-history stages of Atlantic salmon in fresh water.

ABSTRACT: Laboratory studies on associations between disease resistance and susceptibility and major histocompatibility (MH) genes in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar have shown the importance of immunogenetics in understanding the capacity of populations to fight specific diseases. However, the occurrence and virulence of pathogens may vary spatially and temporally in the wild, making it more complicated to predict the overall effect that MH genes exert on fitness of natural populations and over several life-history stages. Here we show that MH variability is a significant determinant of salmon survival in fresh water, by comparing observed and expected genotype frequencies at MH and control microsatellite loci at parr and migrant stages in the wild. We found that additive allelic effects at immunogenet

SUBMITTER: de Eyto E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3352546 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature