Projects per year
Abstract / Description of output
Pacific oysters are a key aquaculture species globally, and genetic improvement via selective breeding is a major target. Genomic selection has the potential to expedite genetic gain for key target traits of a breeding program, but has not yet been evaluated in oyster. The recent development of SNP arrays for Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) raises the opportunity to test genomic selection strategies for polygenic traits. In this study, a population of 820 oysters (comprising 23 full-sibling families) were genotyped using a medium density SNP array (23 K informative SNPs), and the genetic architecture of growth-related traits [shell height (SH), shell length (SL), and wet weight (WW)] was evaluated. Heritability was estimated to be moderate for the three traits (0.26 ± 0.06 for SH, 0.23 ± 0.06 for SL and 0.35 ± 0.05 for WW), and results of a GWAS indicated that the underlying genetic architecture was polygenic. Genomic prediction approaches were used to estimate breeding values for growth, and compared to pedigree based approaches. The accuracy of the genomic prediction models (GBLUP) outperformed the traditional pedigree approach (PBLUP) by ∼25% for SL and WW, and ∼30% for SH. Further, reduction in SNP marker density had little impact on prediction accuracy, even when density was reduced to a few hundred SNPs. These results suggest that the use of genomic selection in oyster breeding could offer benefits for the selection of breeding candidates to improve complex economic traits at relatively modest cost.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 391 |
Journal | Frontiers in Genetics |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 19 Sept 2018 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Genomic selection for growth traits in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas): Potential of low-density marker panels for breeding value prediction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 5 Finished
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Application of genetic markers to improve resistance to herpes virus in commercial oyster populations
Houston, R.
1/01/17 → 31/12/18
Project: Research
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Investigation of Host Genetic Resistance to Oyster Herpes Virus using a High Density SNP Array
Houston, R. & Talbot, R.
1/04/15 → 31/03/17
Project: Research
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Future-Proofing the sustainability of the MRC high throughput sequencing hub in Scotland
Blaxter, M.
1/10/12 → 30/09/14
Project: Research