ARS | Publication request: Selective breeding of food size rainbow trout against Flavobacteriosis

Submitted to: Flavobacterium Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 15, 2012
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
Citation: Lapatra, S.E., Lafrentz, B.R., Towner, R.H. 2012. Selective breeding of food size rainbow trout against Flavobacteriosis [abstract]. 3rd International Conference on Members of the Genus Flavobacterium. p. 60.

Technical Abstract: Selective breeding of rainbow trout is an important component of an integrated fish health management program. The current goals of our selective breeding program are to improve disease resistance, growth and survival in a reuse water environment. To improve these traits, data are recorded on thousands of individuals each year. Growth data is collected at various ages to determine which families and which individuals within each family have the best growth. To improve disease resistance, portions of the progeny from each family are exposed to specific pathogens in a standardized challenge test. Each family was tested for survivability to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), Flavobacterium psychrophilum, the causative agent of bacterial coldwater disease (CWD) and rainbow trout fry syndrome (RTFS) and F. columnare the causative agent of columnaris disease. Development of standardized challenge tests that mimic “natural” host-pathogen interactions in the laboratory are critical for ultimately translating the potential benefits from a selective breeding program into a true rainbow trout production environment. It is also extremely important to critically evaluate your selection parameters so that a maximum return on your investment with minimal downside risk is realized. Growth is a moderately heritable trait that can be changed rapidly and economically with traditional quantitative genetic techniques. Disease resistance has much lower heritability and is more difficult to change. Better knowledge of specific and general disease resistance mechanisms in trout would aid the industry in improving future stocks.