NEST-SPECIFIC DNA FINGERPRINTS OF SMALLMOUTH BASS IN LAKE OPEONGO, ONTARIO

Methods of DNA fingerprinting were employed to search for nest-specifi c markers in the population of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu in Lake Opeongo, Ontario. Banding patterns produced from combinations of six restriction endonucleases and seven DNA fingerprint probes were e valuated. Each enzyme and probe combination detected ver;y few polymor phic loci among fry from the same nest. However, comparisons of finger prints between fry from different nests revealed significant differenc es in banding patterns, indicating that each nest had a unique fingerp rint. Fry from 15 nests in the Jones Bay area of the lake were fingerp rinted by using the restriction enzyme Hae III and the probe (GACA)4. A double-blind test was conducted to determine the ability to assign a n unknown fry correctly to its nest of origin and demonstrate that nes t-specific fingerprints exist. All fry tested were assigned correctly to their nest of origin by visual comparison of their fingerprints wit h each of the nest fingerprints, thus demonstrating that nest-specific DNA fingerprints can be generated.