Open AccessBreed Improvement of Tilapia: Selective Breeding for Cold Tolerance and for Growth Rate in Fresh and Saline Water
Author(s) -
Gideon Hulata,
G. A. E. Gall
Publication year - 2003
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.32747/2003.7586478.bard
Subject(s) - biology , quantitative trait locus , microsatellite , population , breed , selective breeding , linkage (software) , trait , breeding program , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , agronomy , demography , allele , gene , sociology , cultivar , computer science , programming language
The main objective of this project was to initiate a breeding program to produce cold-tolerant and salinity-tolerant synthetic breeds of tilapia, from a base population consisting of a four-species hybrid population created under an earlier BARD project. A secondary objective was to estimate genetic parameters for the traits growth rate under fresh- and salt-water and for cold tolerance. A third objective was to place quantitative trait loci that affect these traits of interest (e.g., growth rate in fresh-water, salt-water and cold tolerance) on the growing linkage map of primarily microsatellite loci. We have encountered fertility problems that were apparently the result of the complex genetic structure of this base population. The failure in producing the first generation of the breeding program has forced us to stop the intended breeding program. Thus, upon approval of BARD office, this objective was dropped and during the last year we have focused on the secondary objective of the original project during the third year of the project, but failed to perform the intended analysis to estimate genetic parameters for the traits of interest. We have succeeded, however, to strengthen the earlier identification of a QTL for cold tolerance by analyzing further segregating families. The results support the existence of a QTL for cold tolerance on linkage group 15, corresponding to UNH linkage group 23. The results also indicate a QTL for the same trait on linkage group 12, corresponding to UNH linkage group 4.