While the potamodromous sterlet was common in past throughout Upper Danube Germany and Austria, it nearly vanished second half of 20th century. Until recently, only one small isolated reproductive sub-population is known from German–Austrian border. However, remnants another section downstream Vienna, near Austrian–Slovakian border, were discovered 2014. An assessment population size most impor...

Several whole genome duplication (WGD) events followed by rediploidization took place in the evolutionary history of vertebrates. Acipenserids represent a convenient model group for investigation of the consequences of WGD as their representatives underwent additional WGD events in different lineages resulting in ploidy level variation between species, and these processes are still ongoing. Ear...

Intraspecific and interspecific nucleotide sequence variations of the mtDNA control region (D-loop) were studied with mtDNAs isolated from tissue specimens of more than 1400 sturgeons of nine species: Russian sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedtii , Persian sturgeon A. persicus , Siberian sturgeon A. baerii , Amur sturgeon A. schrenkii , Fringebarbel sturgeon A. nudiventris , sterlet A. ruthenus , ...

The sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus L.) is a bottom-feeding fish species with a direct exposure to contaminants from water and sediments. Although heavy metal pollution is believed to be one of the main threats to the sterlet population in the Danube River basin, there is a lack of knowledge of the exact impact of heavy metals on their survival. In the present study, effects of heavy metal pollutio...