Genetic Differentiation among Local Populations of Japanese Char Salvelinus leucomaenis

Genetic differentiation among 12 populations of Japanese char Salvelinus leucomaenis were examined based on allelic frequencies at 32 isozymic loci. Cluster analysis based on Nei's genetic distance usig UPGMA method classified the 12 populations into 5 groups that are Hokkaido-Tohoku, Tohoku-Kanto, Niigata-Gifu, Ishikawa, and Shiga groups. The five geographic groups showed the significant characteristics of allelic distribution. The distance tree constructed by the Neighbor-Joining method based on Nei's genetic distance indicates good agreement with the cluster using UPGMA method. In the construction of the distance tree by Neighbor-Joining method, Tohoku-Kanto group joined finally with the Niigata-Gifu group in the center of the distance tree. This suggests that the Tohoku-Kanto group might be near to the original Japanese char.