Nov. 30, 2011 Two distinct populations of rainbow trout -- one
in Alaska, the other in Idaho -- share a genetic trait that
could have huge implications for fisheries conservation and
management, report an eight-member research team. The common
trait is a similar rapid rate of development that has allowed
these different salmomid subspecies to adapt to their native
rivers in Alaska and Idaho. The researchers, in a paper put
online ahead of publication in the journal Molecular Ecology,
say the similarity, a gene variant, resides in a specific
portion of their genomes from where this local adaptation is
triggered. Understanding and applying that knowledge could help
guide current and future efforts to save species on the brink of
extinction and help rejuvenate dwindling populations, especially
as changing conditions alter fish environments, says lead author
Michael R. Miller, a National Science Foundation-funded doctoral
student in the University of Oregon lab of co-author Chris Doe,
a UO biologist and Howard Hu