Heritability of growth traits in the Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer)

Baoqing Ye,Ziyi Wan,Le Wang,Hongyan Pang,Yanfei Wen,Huiming Liu,Bing Liang,Huan Sein Lim,Junhui Jiang,Genhua Yue

doi:10.1016/j.aaf.2017.06.001

Abstract

Growth is an economically important trait in aquaculture. To improve growth trait of the Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) we have been carrying out, since 2004, a selective breeding program. This study focuses on growth traits in the F2 fish generation, comprised of offspring from 23 mass crosses from 383 F1 brooders. Using genotyping analysis for 10 microsatellites from both brood stock and progeny we have reconstructed the pedigree of each mass-cross. For F2 generation at 90 days post hatch (dph), we have recorded body weight (BW) for 12,117 individuals and total length (TL), standard length (SL) and condition factor (Ktl and Ksl) for 3530 individuals; and all five traits for 2136 individuals at 270 dph. At 90 dph the average BW was 46.88 ± 20.95 g. Combining pedigree information, recorded growth traits and Restricted Maximum Likelihood method, we have estimated that the narrow sense heritability (h2) in F1 fish for BW, TL, SL, Ktl and Ksl was at, 90 dph, 0.12 ± 0.03, 0.11 ± 0.03, 0.10 ± 0.03, 0.20 ± 0.04 and 0.11 ± 0.03, respectively and, at 270 dph, 0.34 ± 0.07, 0.32 ± 0.07, 0.30 ± 0.06, 0.13 ± 0.04 and 0.11 ± 0.04, respectively. At 90 dph the realised heritability for BW was 0.13. Comparing with F1 generation, the growth performance of F2 fish was increased by 14.4%. Heritability of growth traits will be useful for future genetic improvement programmes of the Asian seabass.

Highlights

Growth is one of the most important traits in fish aquaculture (Gjedrem, 2005)
Growth traits, including body weight (BW), total length (TL), standard length (SL), Fulton's coefficient of condition based on TL (i.e. Ktl) and SL (i.e. Ksl), were measured in fish at the 90 and 270 dph, respectively
The mean BW at 90 dph of the F2 fish, measured from 12,117 individuals from 23 mass crosses, was 46.88 ± 20.95 g; whereas the average BW at 90 dph of the F1 fish, obtained from 17,155 individuals derived from 39 mass crosses of 453 founders, was 40.98 ± 23.09 g

Summary

Introduction

Heritability is the measure of the relative proportion of genetic versus environmental factors that determine the total variation of a specific trait. Narrow sense heritability, which is the proportion of total phenotypic variation due to additive genetic factors, is important in predicting how a trait will respond to selection. Heritabilities have been estimated for a number of traits in several aquaculture fish species, such as growth in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio, Vandeputte et al, 2004), and Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer, Wang et al, 2008, Domingos et al, 2013); resistance to columnaris disease in the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, Evenhuis, Leeds, Marancik, LaPatra, & Wiens, 2015) and others (Gjedrem, Robinson, & Rye, 2012). For newly emerging species, information about heritabilities for important traits and increase of growth is still limited

Objectives

Methods

Results