Conclusions

My hypothesis stated: I believe scuds from two different geographic locations will have different LDH isoenzyme patterns. This is because I feel that the populations of scuds are geographically isolated from one another. My research has shown that the the LDH isoenzyme patterns of scuds from two different geographic locations are different to some extent by factors of 2.44%, 12.50%, and 24.44% differences in gel migration distances. This shows a strong possibility for different molecular forms of the LDH isoenzymes. Since gel electrophoresis separates molecules by size, and because the banding patterns of the sample sites were different, the LDH isoenzymes were different. LDH is a protein and proteins are coded by DNA. If the proteins are different between two populations then the DNA must also be different between the two populations, thus indicating a genetic difference between the two.

My results support geographic isolation because generally, the greater the distance between local breeding populations, less gene flow occurs between them. Organisms with little or no gene flow between species that live in different locations, tend to go on their own evolutionary way, adapting to different conditions in their own locations. These adaptations are recorded in their DNA and expressed in proteins.

I believe that with more sampling and gel electrophoresis runs, my data and conclusions would be stronger. Time was a limiting factor in this project because the procedures required much time.