The genetic variability of two farmed strains of brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill), was examined using six microsatellite DNA loci. The objective of the present study was to evaluate locus-specific genetic markers in brook trout strains cultured in Poland and to assess their levels of genetic diversity. The average number of alleles at all loci in the studied stocks differed between the two groups: 2.20 in the Rutki strain and 7.20 in the Canada strain. For the microsatellites examined, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 1 (locus Ssa-171 in the Canada strain) to 24 (locus Sfo-292 in the Canada strain). The results suggested that the Canada strain had higher gene diversity than the Rutki strain. The molecular analysis described in the present study will be useful for monitoring long-term genetic variation and for the identification of suitable parents for the development of stocks with suitable gene diversity in cultured Polish brook trout.
