Research

Salmon Population Genetic Studies Using DNA Microsatellite: Development of a Web Database of Atlantic Salmon

Supervised by:
Dr. Jamie Stevens

Abstract 
Motivation: To represent a huge number of microsatellite profiles generated for Atlantic salmon(Salmo salar)populationeffectively, an interactive database has been developed forsalmon population of the Atlantic coast of western Europe stretching from northern Spain to Scotland.It used a selection of previously developed microsatellite markers to identify the profiles of Atlantic salmon populations in river systems on the Western coast of Europe. This will enable researchers to assess effectively the population of salmon caught at sea and, therefore, the river or region of origin.
Result: The database was constructed in a web-based map that shows geographic data sets by streams. In this project, Atlantic salmon populations were compared for microsatellite marker heterozygosity throughout 12 chromosomal regions in the salmon genome. In total, 3730 samples were genotyped for microsatellite markers across the 12 different chromosomes. A high level of genetic variation was evident within the investigated  populations as assessed from two genetic diversity measures. The average observed and expected heterozygosity values were 0.825 and 0.836, respectively.  
Availability: The database is available via password controlled access at  http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/meeg/