ABSTRACT
Starch gel electrophoresis was used for examining the transferrin gene locus (Tf) and two esterase gene loci (Est-1 and Est-D1) of a pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) population sample collected from Santa Cruz Lake, Tefé River, Amazonas, Brazil. The Tf locus was tentatively classified as being polymorphic, showing two double-banded patterns (Tf 12 and Tf 22) of the three theoretically expected ones (Tf 11, Tf 12 and Tf 22), presumably controlled by two co-dominant alleles, Tf 1 and Tf 2. The monotony detected in pirarucu Tf locus genotypes showing a very high proportion of the double-banded heterozygote pattern Tf 12 (95% of the sampled individuals) may indicate the possibility of their having come from representatives of the same brood begotten by a pair of fish, where a single-banded Tf 11 homozygote pattern male would have crossed with a single-banded Tf 22 homozygote pattern female, or vice versa. One zone of electrophoretic activity was detected in esterase, presumably controlled by a monomorphic Est-1 locus with the fixed allele Est-11 where all individuals showed the single-banded Est-111 homozygote pattern. Esterase-D also displayed one zone of electrophoretic activity, presumably controlled by a monomorphic Est-D1 locus with a fixed allele Est-D11 where all individuals revealed the single-banded Est-D111 genotype pattern. The monotony comprised by single-banded genotype patterns in both esterase systems tested may also indicate the possibility of the individuals from the sample examined having come from representatives of the same brood begotten by a pair of fish with both the male and female having the same genotypes.