Minimal intraspecific variation in the sequence of the transcribed spacer regions of the ribosomal DNA of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

Abstract

Intraspecific variation in the sequence of the transcribed spacer regions of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in lake trout was examined by restriction mapping and sequencing of these regions amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. The length of the first internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-1) was 566 bases and the second internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-2) was 368 bases in lake trout. When the 1.4-kb region including the ITS-1, the 5.8S coding region, and the ITS-2 was amplified from 12 individuals from four populations and digested with eight different enzymes only one intraindividual polymorphism was found that occurred in each population. When the amplified ITS-1 region was sequenced from an additional 10 individuals from five populations, no interindividual variation was found in the sequence. A 6-kb portion of the rDNA repeat unit including 1.6 kb of the 18S coding region, the 5′ external spacer region (5′ ETS), and part of the adjacent intergenic spacer was cloned and a restriction map was prepared for these regions in lake trout. No intraspecific variation was found in the region adjacent to the 18S rDNA, which includes the 5′ ETS, although intraspecific and intraindividual length variation was found in the intergenic spacer region 3–6 kb from the 18S. Sequencing of a 609-b segment of the 5′ ETS adjacent to the 18S coding region revealed the presence of two 41-b repeats. The 198-b sequence between the repeats had some similarity to the 18S coding region of other fishes. Primers were designed for amplification of 559 b of the 5′ ETS using the polymerase chain reaction. No intraspecific variation in this region in lake trout was found when the DNA amplified from this region in 12 individuals from four populations was digested with eight restriction enzymes.Key words: ribosomal DNA, internal transcribed spacer regions, 5′ external spacer region, transcribed spacer, lake trout.