The study was initiated to determine the incidence of phenotypic sex reveral in wild fall chinook salmon that returned to spawn in the Columbia River. Fish were sampled at different locations within this watershed to determine whether they were faithfully expressing their genotype. We report a high incidence (84%) of a genetic market for the Y chromosome in phenotypic females sampled from the wild, which was not observed in femaile fish raised in hatchers. It appears likely that female salmon with a male genotype have been sex reversed, creating the potential for a abnormal YY genotype in the wild that would produce all-male offspring and alter sex ratios significantly.
Revised: October 4, 2001 |
Published: January 1, 2001
Citation
Dauble D.D. 2001.High incidence of a male-specific genetic marker in phenotypic female chinook salmon from the Columbia River.Environmental Health Perspectives 109, no. 1:67-69.PNNL-SA-35189.