White Kings

[fishNphysician]

white king pics.... can you say S-T-U-M-P-Y ?

white king pics.... can you say S-T-U-M-P-Y ?

..........

 

[yukon]

Good evening doc!

 

[Water_Gremlin]

I tell you what, I learn something every day. I didnt know there was a white king.

 

[BrownBear]

What about?

What about?

The ability of a salmon to store the red-orange pigment carotene in its fat cells is controlled genetically. So a sockeye salmon (red) stores carotene in its fat cells, and a chum salmon metabolizes it into a colorless Vitamin A. For a chinook salmon, flesh color is determined by two genes in a duplicate recessive gene interaction. Here is a list that will help explain this. It comes from an ADF&G publication. The genotype is the combination of capital and small case letters and the flesh color is defined.

AA,BB -red flesh color,
AABb - red,
AA,bb - white,
Aa,BB - red,
Aa,Bb - red,
Aa,bb - white,
aa,BB-white,
aa,Bb-white,
aa,bb - white.

You can see from this that if a dominant gene (A and B) are both present then the flesh color is red.

The genes for white kings are rare in Alaska. A higher percentage is found in the Pacific Northwest.

How red a fish is or just a pink color depends on the amount of pigment in their diet. However, a white king cannot become a red king no matter the diet because the genes controlling the process are not available.

I've seen and read this and understand what it says, but it doesn't answer one question for me: What about the partial whites? Ive caught them that were half and half (almost always front half white and back half red), mottled (usually all white in the front half, mottled in the belly, and red back of the ribs), and partials. The last "partial" I caught was all white except for about 4 inches at the caudal peduncle.

Interesting speculation, but it doesn't change the fact that they sure are different on the table! We're talking silvery bright fish with WHITE flesh. I know folks who call silvery colored kings "whites" simply because the skin's not red, and without regard for the flesh color. And some folks think "white" kings are those bright cherry red ones on the spawning grounds with flesh faded to white. Bleah!!!!!

 

[fishNphysician]

I believe the "marbled" or "creamsicle" flesh in some kings indicates that these fish are probably genetic mosaics... that is some of the cells have the enzyme necessary to store the carotenoid pigments and others do not.

 

[BrownBear]

Lotsa genetics in my background, and I've never heard of a "genetic mosaic." Oh well. Good to eat, whatever you believe.

 

[Brian M]

Hmm...degree in biology here, yet unfamiliar with that term as well. Since all of the fish's cells have the same DNA, would it therefore be a difference in gene expression? Any idea on the specifics on why the gene for carotenoid pigment would be expressed in some cells and not others? Environment can affect gene expression, but it's usually on an organism level, not specific to regions of the body. Interesting...

-Brian

 

[fishNphysician]

biology/genetics lesson...

biology/genetics lesson...

Genetic Mosaic:

DEFN: An organism in which different cells contain different genetic sequence. This can be the result of a mutation during development or fusion of embryos at an early developmental stage (chimera).

...........................................

And yes, this happens in humans, too. How about this marbled fudge-sicle?

I have cut kings with this marbled appearance in their flesh. Didn't have digital camera capability at the time, so I don't have a pic.

However, here are some pics of a chrome bright hen king I caught in the mouth of the Columbia River in Aug 2005... chrome on the outside but with flesh that looked like an "unmarbled creamsicle". Check it out:

 

[BrownBear]

Thanks! I wasn't aware of this, probably because I diverged away from med school. Wonderful family photo with your daughter, BTW.

Delighted to see that collar in your final photo. It amazed and frankly sickens me to see people throw them away, as well as the bellies. They're the best part of any salmon!

 

[Tom]

Do white kings also have white mouths and gums? I was out at the Little Su today and some friends caught what we thought was a little king. A heated debate ensued because the mouth and gums were white. They didn't fillet it while I was there so I didn't see the color of the meat.

 

[BrownBear]

Not that I've ever seen. Along with others I've looked really hard for any exterior sign that a king is white, but without luck.

Basically, if the gums weren't black I'd put long money that your friends' fish wasn't a king. But to know if it was white you would have to get out your knife.

 

[fishNphysician]

White gums = coho if the fish had spots ( unless it was a humpy, but those are BIG oval spots). The other possibility for light gums is an early chum.

BTW you don't need to cut a king to determine if it is a white one. Simply lift up the bottom of the gill cover just enough to expose the translucent area at the apex of the collar. If you see red flesh thru the clear skin, then it's not a white king.