Abstract
Genetic variability and differentiation in six breeds including three varieties of goldfish (Wakin, Ryukin, Comet, Oranda-shishigashira, Aka-, Kuro-, Sansyoku-demekin, and Ranchu) were examined by enzyme electrophoresis. Within a breed, average heterozygosity (He), estimated from allele frequencies at 26 loci, ranged from 0.046 to 0.100 with a mean of 0.072. Nei's genetic distance (D) between breeds was ranging from 0.0015 to 0.0239 with a mean of 0.0116, indicating that the level of differentiation among breeds falls into the range of local races. The dendrogram constructed from the genetic distance showed that the Wakin, Ryukin, and Comet were clustered together, the three varieties of Demekin and Oranda-shishigashira formed another cluster, and the Ranchu was only distantly related to the other breeds.
