Gel electrophoresis of proteins has become a standard and powerful research tool for application in a multitude of biological disciplines One form of protein electrophoresis, isozyme analysis, has become particularly prominent in systematic and evolutionary biology as well as agronomy (Tanksley and Orton, 1983) Isozymes, or multiple molecular forms of enzymes, are enzymes that share a common substrate but differ in electrophoretic mobility (Markert and Moller, 1959) They are revealed when tissue extracts are subjected to electrophoresis in various types of gels and subsequently submersed in solutions containing enzyme-specific stains Genetic analysis may indicate that some of the variant electromorphs are encoded by alternate alleles at a single locus, in which case the allelic products are termed allozymes (Prakash et al, 1969) Data retrieved from electrophoretic gels consist of the number and relative mobilities of various enzyme products, which with appropriate genetic analyses become transformed into single or multilocus genotypes for each individual analyzed Reasons are many for the popularity of electrophoretic data (Avise, 1975; Gottlieb, 1977; Crawford, 1983), but foremost among these is that isozymes provide a series of readily scored, single-gene markers

Visualization and Interpretation of Plant Isozymes

Previously reported results on natural populations of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) urged further studies using additional electrophoretically detectable loci. Samples of brain, eye, heart, kidney, liver, and muscle from approximately 50 specimens from each of two populations and a large number of muscle samples from several additional populations were examined. Electrophoretic and staining methods for the 37 enzymes studied are given in detail. Of a total of 69 loci detected, 54 loci were considered usable in population genetics screenings. The expression of the loci coding for these enzymes is described and interpreted. The results presented will serve as a basis for a more detailed examination of genetic variation in brown trout populations.

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Isozyme loci in brown trout (Salmo trutta L.): detection and interpretation from population data

The procedure to conduct horizontal starch gel electrophoresis on enzymes is described in detail. Areas covered are (I) collection and storage of specimens, (2)
preparation of tissues, (3) preparation of a starch gel, (4) application of enzyme extracts to a gel, (5) setting up a gel for electrophoresis, (6) slicing a gel, and (7)
staining a gel. Recipes are also included for 47 enzyme stains and 3 selected gel buffers. (PDF file contains 26 pages.)

Manual for Starch Gel Electrophoresis: A Method for the Detection of Genetic Variation

Using a silver staining method to detect DNA fragments produced by restriction enzymes, it was possible to compare mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) from 85 individuals of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) trapped at 25 localities in Fennoscandia. There are two distinctly different mtDNA lineages, one occurring in southern and central Fennoscandia and the other in the northern parts. A fragment comparison method shows about 12.7% nucleotide sequence divergence between these two lineages. This major difference between animals of the same species could theoretically be explained by intraspecific lineage survivorship independent of species hybridization, or by introduction of an atypical mtDNA via hybridization with a closely related species. Analysis of mtDNAs from the two otherClethrionomys species present in Fennoscandia (C. rutilus andC. rufocanus) shows that the mtDNA of northernC. glareolus is very similar to that ofC. rutilus and that the mtDNA lineages of these two species cluster together in a phenogram, with small genetic distances among them. By contrast, electrophoresis of proteins encoded by 17 nuclear loci reveals fixed allelic differences between these two species at 8 loci. Hence the presence of two distinctly different mtDNA lineages withinC. glareolus may be a consequence of a limited episode of hybridization betweenC. glareolus andC. rutilus, probably during the postglacial recolonization of Fennoscandia 8000–13,000 years ago.

Transfer of mitochondrial DNA from the northern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rutilus) to the bank vole (C. glareolus).

The amount of genetic differentiation between stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was estimated from electrophoretically detectable protein loci expressed in skeletal muscle and liver. Variant al...

Genetic Variation in Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Throughout Its Range

The esterase enzymes of the tissues of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus) were analyzed by starch gel electrophoresis. Four sets of esterase bands were distinguished by their electrophoretic mobility, their relative activity with the two substrates, alpha-naphthyl acetate and alpha-naphthyl butyrate, and their relative concentrations in plasma, liver, and heart tissues. All of the esterases were inhibited by 10−4M solutions of dichlorvos, an organophosphate inhibitor, but none was inhibited by 10−4M eserine sulfate or by 10−4 M EDTA. Polymorphism was noted in all four sets of esterases. Evidence for the genetic control of the fastest migrating set was obtained from population genetic analyses. In this set of esterases, five distinct bands occurred either singly or in pairs. The observed distribution of the three most common bands fits the hypothesis that they are controlled by a set of autosomal alleles. The two rarest bands occurred only in the heterozygous state, as would be expected. ...

George J. Ridgway

Papers

Polymorphism in the Esterases of Atlantic Herring