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Genetic markers for improoved domestication of farmed Halibut

Although juvenile production has been acknowledged as the bottleneck for successful commercial halibut culture for decades, the problem is multifactorial and still poorly managed. Overall survival rate from egg to weaned fry is typically 1-2%. Average sur vival rate during first feeding is 11% on average, but varies from 0% to 70%. This variation demonstrates a high survival potential under farming conditions, but also an uncontrolled risk, inhibiting industrial development. Efforts to domesticate and farm halibut have mainly focused on developing a good farming environment (nutrition, water quality, farming technology), and not on genetic selection nor selective breeding. Despite huge variation in reproduction rate between broodstock individuals, no effor t has been made to utilize genomic information to identify and select the most reproductively successful individuals. The project will sample and analyse existing broodstock and offspring from Norway and Canada, using state-of-the-art sequencing technolog ies to detect and assay genetic markers across the halibut genome. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) will be used to unambiguously assign offspring to parents thereby identifying top performing broodstock and simultaneously highlighting genomic regions assoc iated with reproductive performance. Closer examination of these regions can potentially reveal genes underlying important traits and allow for better stock management and improved fisheries productivity, and enhance our understanding of the underlying bi ology. The project is a novel approach to genetic management of a poorly domesticated species with a long generation interval, with the goal of accelerating domestication and the development of profitable halibut farming. The project is a collaboration be tween Norwegian and Canadian halibut farmers, a leading aquaculture breeding company and leading academic R&D.

Prosjektleder:
Per Olav Skjervold
Institusjon:
 
Aktivitetsnavn:
Havbruk - en næring i vekst
Prosjektstatus:
Bevilgning
Prosjektperiode:
01.01.2013 - 31.12.2015
Geografi:
Norge/ROGALAND/HAUGESUND
Fagområder:
Landbruks- og fiskerifag/Fiskerifag/Akvakultur
Prosjektnummer:
226066