The hexaploid barbel population of the species Labeobarbus fritschi
which lives in the Allal El Fassi dam reservoir in the north of Morocco showed an absence of males among a sample of 597 individuals analyzed in a first survey and among the 39 fish analyzed in this study. A possible explanation is that this population may be composed of females only and that
they reproduce either by gynogenesis or hybridogenesis, two processes triggered by hybridization with a sexually incompatible species (possibly the
sympatric barbel Luciobarbus setivimensis in this case). We used molecular markers to collect any information that could explain the phenomenon. To do this, numerous nuclear loci were screened (more than 50) in search of polymorphism. Genetic diversity was low as a possible consequence of clonal reproduction: only three allozymic and two intronic loci presented a sufficient level of polymorphism to be exploited. The existence of several copies of the same multilocus genotypes (1/3 of the fish) – with some showing a significantprobability of not being derived from sexual reproduction – provided evidence of unisexual reproduction. Deviations from panmixia as well as linkage equilibrium were also observed. Although preliminary, the data supports the hypothesis of the unisexual reproduction of females by way of gynogenesis rather than hybridogenesis.