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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Orono, Maine » National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313021
Research Project: Genetic Improvement Of Marine Fish and Shellfish

Location: National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center

Title: Markers associated with disease resistance in Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica

Author
item BAO, KEHAN - University Of Rhode Island
item GOMEZ CHIARRI, MARTA - University Of Rhode Island
item Proestou, Dina

Submitted to: Journal of Shellfish Research
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2015
Publication Date: 8/1/2015
Citation: Bao, K., Gomez Chiarri, M., Proestou, D.A. 2015. Markers associated with disease resistance in Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica. Journal of Shellfish Research. 34(2):608.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Eastern oyster, Crassostrea viginica, is an economically important aquaculture species in the USA, but production has been impacted by diseases such as dermo and MSX. Efforts have been put into the development of disease-resistant oyster lines using selective breeding techniques. However, these methods depend on consistent and accurate selection pressure. Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) utilizes genetic markers associated with disease-resistance and promises accurate selection for resistant oysters in the absence of disease pressure. Several markers associated with dermo and MSX resistance have been identified using selected lines and families, but they need to be verified in further populations. In this study, oysters spawned from NEH broodstock survivors of a Seaside Organism (caused by Haplosporodium costale) outbreak in Rhode Island were deployed in York River, Virginia. Microsatellite markers (20, including 10 markers found to be associated with disease-resistance in previous studies), were used to genotype samples collected before and after a disease-caused mortality period (March 2013 – October 2013). Five out of the 10 markers previously associated with disease resistance (RUCV66, RUCV270, Cvi2i4, Cvi1g3 and Cvi2m10) were verified to have significant shifts in allele frequency post-mortality. The analysis also revealed one marker (RUCV68) with a significant shift in allele frequency that had not been identified in previous studies. These six markers will be good candidates for anchor locations for detecting functional genes nearby that underlie disease-resistance. To further confirm the association between these markers and disease-resistance, oysters from the same spawn but reared at a different location (New Jersey) are being tested.