Searching for a stock structure in Sardina pilchardus from the Adriatic and Ionian seas using a microsatellite DNA-based approach

In the present study the genetic variability of European sardine from Adriatic and Ionian seas was investigated in order to detect the occurrence of genetic structure within and between these basins. In several samples the analysis of genetic variability at eight microsatellite loci showed a number of homozygote individuals higher than expected at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The inter-population differentiation level estimated by AMOVA, ?ST and ?RST and Bayesian descriptors detected no signs of population differentiation between the samples analysed. These results are consistent with previous studies based on allozymes and several mitochondrial DNA markers and add further evidence contradicting the early identification, based on morphological and reproductive data, of two sub-populations in the Adriatic Sea.