Genetic variation in white bass

A protein electrophoretic survey of white bass Morone chrysops was conducte d to evaluate the extent and pattern of extant genetic variation and popula tion structuring. Forty-four presumptive structural loci were surveyed from eye, liver, and skeletal muscle tissue from 456 white bass in 19 samples. The level of allelic variation observed within while bass populations was l ow relative to many other species of fish, but it was consistent with level s of variation observed in the congeneric striped bass M. saxatilis and may represent a feature common to all species in the genus. Significant interp opulation genetic heterogeneity was observed; however, the overall level of differentiation among populations was quite low. Widespread stocking of wh ite bass since 1900 and rapid range expansion could, in parr, explain the a bsence of population structuring that is consistent with geographic proximi ty or drainage. The high frequencies of an mIDHP* allele in Lake Erie colle ctions that was absent in those from Mississippi drainages is consistent wi th distinct postglacial origins of these two groups.