The isozymes of lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and glucosephosphate isomerase in Italian ictalurids.

1. The isozymes of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and glucose-phosphate isomerase (GPI) of three species of Italian ictalurids: Ictalurus sp., I. nebulosus marmoratus, and I. punctatus, were analyzed. 2. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) was applied to polyacrylamide gel plates, and the isozymes revealed by means of specific histochemical staining. 3. Species-specific monomorphic patterns were found for LDH. 4. In contrast, MDH and GPI have the same patterns in I. sp. and I. nebulosus marmoratus and different patterns in I. punctatus. 5. Comparison of the isozymatic patterns of the three species clearly showed the close relationship between I. sp. and I. nebulosus marmoratus and the relative taxonomic distance of I. punctatus, and thus the early detachment of this last species from a presumptive common ancestral lineage.