The genetic diversity of Asian rainbow smelt Osmerus dentex from the White Sea, southeastern Barents Sea, and Kara Sea basins has been assessed for nine microsatellite loci. The degree of genetic differentiation of O. dentex is statistically significant in the considered part of the species range. The most pronounced genetic divergence was found between samples from the inner regions of the White Sea, both within the group and in comparison with other samples. In the European north-east of Russia, the modern population genetic structure of O. dentex is represented by a system of genetically distinct populations in almost every locality studied and corresponds generally to the model of a subdivided population.
Semenova et al. (Sun,) studied this question.