Abstract
AbstractOur team has initiated a selective breeding program for regional strains of sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima, to improve the competitiveness of kelp farming in the United States. Within our breeding program, we also include an endemic putative species, Saccharina angustissima, locally referred to as skinny kelp. We crossed uniclonal gametophyte cultures derived from 37 wild‐collected blades representing five sugar kelp strains and one skinny kelp strain to produce 104 unique crosses. Each cross was outplanted on a near‐shore research farm located in the Gulf of Maine (GOM). After the first farming season, our results indicated that sugar kelp and skinny kelp were interfertile, and produced mature and reproductively viable sporophytes. Morphological traits of individual blades varied depending on the parental contribution (sugar vs. skinny), with significant differences found in progeny blade length, width, thickness, and in stipe length and diameter. Despite these differences, wet weight and blade density per plot showed no statistical differences regardless of the cross. Given their published genetic similarity and their interfertility shown here, S. angustissima and S. latissima may not be different species, and may each contribute genetic diversity to breeding programs aimed at meeting ocean farming and market needs.
Highlights
We report on the morphometric performance of blade and stipe traits of progeny derived from pure sugar kelp, pure skinny kelp, and mixed crosses grown in farm conditions for our first outplanting season
We provide insights on how the contribution of skinny kelp influenced morphometric traits of progeny within plots, and examined potential maternal versus paternal skinny kelp contributions to the morphology of progeny when crossed with sugar kelp
Our results show that sugar kelp and skinny kelp can produce interfertile progeny, confirming their relatedness and recent divergence (Augyte et al, 2018)
Summary
Sugar kelp aquaculture must overcome various challenges to continue its expansion Some of these challenges include reliably producing a sustainably and economically high-yielding crop that can resist disease, fouling, and highly dynamic environments including rising sea surface temperatures (Kim et al, 2019; Kim, Yarish, Hwang, Park, & Kim, 2017; Park, Shin, Do, Yarish, & Kim, 2018). In light of these challenges, we have started a selective breeding program for S. latissima with the long-term goal of improving kelp productivity per unit area for future use as biofuels (MARINER, 2017). AOnly location with sporophytes of the skinny kelp strain collected
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