Molecular Markers and the Study of Phylogeny and Genetic Diversity in North American Sturgeons and Paddlefish

For a number of reasons, including their threatened or endangered status and importance in caviar production, much effort has been and is being expended worldwide on the study of the genetic variation of sturgeons and paddlefish. Presented here is a review of the genetic studies that have been conducted on the ten North American acipenseriform taxa and the types of molecular markers that have been used in these studies. The results that have been obtained from this research are invaluable for guiding conservation efforts by increasing our understanding of the relationships among species within the group, identifying intraspecific population structure and shedding light on acipenseriform life history traits.