Genetic comparison of experimental farmed strains and wild Icelandic populations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.)

Microsatellite DNA loci and the Pantophysin locus (Pan I) were used to investigate levels of genetic diversity within farmed strains of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua and to compare them with the wild source population. A total of 282 farmed samples originating from a spawning ground off the south-west coast of Iceland were sampled in the years 2002 and 2003, and 258 wild cod were collected at the same spawning ground in the same years. The farmed strains exhibited a lower mean number of alleles and allelic diversity than the wild samples at the microsatellite loci. Significant differences were observed between wild and farmed samples both in allele and genotype frequencies at the Pan I locus. We argue that the genetic divergence of wild and farmed samples of Atlantic cod may be due to a small number of effective founding breeders contributing to the genetic variation of the farmed strains, inducing a reduction in allelic diversity. We discuss the potential effect of breeding practices on the genetic diversity of Atlantic cod.