Florida bass (Micropterus salmoides) and Largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans) are important to both aquaculture and recreational fisheries. Understanding their genetics supports selective breeding for growth, disease resistance and diversity in wild populations. Over the past two decades, researchers have applied a range of genetic tools to study genetic differences, evaluate hatchery stocks, and guide management practices.
This review summarizes 19 published studies on largemouth bass genetics. The literature sampled focused on the use of various genetic markers, including microsatellites, mitochondrial DNA (mDNA), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and whole-genome sequencing (Table 1). These studies were chosen to highlight both traditional approaches and recent genomic advances. Microsatellite and mDNA have been widely used to distinguish the Largemouth bass and Florida bass species and to assess the effects of stocking on wild populations. From the sampled literature, microsatellite is widely used (~58%) as compared to SNPs (~32%) and mDNA (~11%) (Table 1). More recent work with SNPs and sequencing has revealed genes linked to growth, sex determination, and disease resistance.
However, more research is needed to fully describe the genetic differences of the two species and to understand how their variation shapes adaptation and aquaculture performance. Across studies, hatchery fish consistently show lower genetic diversity than wild populations, and hybridization between these species is common in managed waters. Further research should clarify the diversity of Largemouth bass genetics in hatcheries and wild populations to help preserve native variations while guiding breeding for key traits and distinguish from the Florida bass species.