Linkage disequilibrium between the pseudoautosomal PEPB-1 locus and the sex-determining region of chinook salmon

Allele frequency differences between sexes and an excess of heterozygotes in males had suggested that the PEPB-1 locus is sex-linked in chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). We here estimate less than 1% recombination between PEPB-1 and a growth hormone pseudogene known to be in the sex-determining region (SEX) in 374 progeny from eight experimental matings. We present modified maximum likelihood methods for estimating haplotype frequencies from population samples at a sex-linked locus in which functional alleles occur on both the X and Y chromosomes (pseudoautosomal loci). We find nearly complete linkage disequilibrium between PEPB-1 and SEX in 20 population samples from the Puget Sound region of Washington and southern British Columbia. However, allele frequencies at PEPB-1 were similar in males and females in 35 population samples from the coast of Washington and the Columbia River basin. Pseudoautosomal regions have been described in a broad taxonomic array of vertebrates and invertebrates, and they are likely candidate regions to find genes associated with differences in life history, morphology, or behavior between males and females.