Inheritance and linkage analysis of five enzyme loci in interspecific hybrids of toadlets, genus Bombina.

Progeny produced from Bombina bombina, B. variegata, and field-collected interspecific hybrids have been analyzed for the inheritance of five enzyme loci, which are fixed for alternate alleles in the parental species. Lactate dehydrogenase (Ldh-1), NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase (Mdh-1), creatine kinase (Ck), adenylate kinase (Ak), and glucosephosphate isomerase (Gpi) are all inherited in a Mendelian manner as codominant alleles at nuclear loci. Both parental alleles are equally functional in artificial F1 hybrids (female B. bombina x male B. variegata) at each of the loci studied. No linkage between any pair of loci was observed. Discovery of this inherited biochemical variation combined with a technique for assaying individual genotypes without killing the animals makes feasible studies of hybrid population structure heretofore impossible.