ARS | Publication request: COMBINING GENETICS AND GENOMICS FOR ENHANCING COOL AND COLDWATER AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION

Submitted to: Proceedings of the International Conference on Recirculating Aqauaculture
Publication Type: Proceedings/Symposium
Publication Acceptance Date: July 1, 2002
Publication Date: July 30, 2002
Citation: Rexroad III, C.E., Silverstein, J. 2002. Combining genetics and genomics for enhancing cool and coldwater aquaculture production. Proceedings of the International Conference on Recirculating Aquaculture. July 17-21, 2002. Book of Abstracts. p. 133-142

Interpretive Summary: For centuries the informal application of genetic principles has led to domestication and enhanced performance of plants and animals of agricultural importance. The development of the discipline of quantitative genetics in the early 20th century formalized the methods of estimating and assigning breeding values for broodstock and solidified the utility of selective breeding for developing superior lines of agricultural plants and animals. The gains in performance of plants and animals produced for food and fiber have been tremendous. Although intensive aquaculture is a historically recent development, genetic improvement in aquaculture species has been, in many cases, dramatic. Over the past decade, advances in random genetic marker development have paved the way for construction of linkage and physical genetic maps, which have enabled the localization of quantitative trait loci (QTL, Lander and Botstein 1989). The potential applications from genomic studies to plant and animal improvement are fantastic, beginning with marker assisted selection and identification of specific genes and pathways regulating traits of economic importance.

Technical Abstract: Recently, aquaculturists have begun to look to genomics in addition to quantitative genetics additional tools to genetically improve species for aquaculture. The term "genome" refers to the complement of genetic material contained by an organism. "Genomics" employs a combination of genetics, molecular biology, and bioinformatic technologies to address biological questions. Successful genome research begins with the development of species specific molecular biology tools and reagents. In this paper we will briefly outline the genomic technologies available to researchers pursing the genetic improvement of aquatic species for aquaculture production. Included are discussions on tools and technologies with respect to quantitative genetics, genetic mapping, functional genomics, and bioinformatics.