Protein polymorphism in two populations of the wild quail Coturnix coturnix japonica.

Summary To evaluate genetic variability in two populations of the wild quail Cofurnix coturnix japonica, proteins and enzymes were examined by starch gel electrophoresis. Rare variants so far not observed in domestic quail were found in the following five enzymes; aspartate aminotransferase, acid phosphatase, pancreatic esterase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase. The proportion of polymorphic loci (Ppoly) and the expected average heterozygosity (H) in one of the two populations were estimated to be 0.484 (15/31) and 0.085, respectively. Those in another population were 0.433 (13/30) and 0.086, respectively. The genetic distance (Nei, 1975) between the two wild quail populations was D= 0.0074. D values of 0.0321 and 0.0189 were estimated between the laboratory quail population previously examined (Kimura et al., 1982) and each of these two wild populations.