Early sexual maturation is considered a serious drawback for Atlantic salmon aquaculture as it retards growth, increases production times and affects flesh quality. Although both growth and sexual maturation are thought to be complex processes controlled by several genetic and environmental factors, selection for these traits has been continuously accomplished since the beginning of Atlantic salmon selective breeding programs. In this genome-wide association study (GWAS) we used a 6.5K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array to genotype ∼480 individuals from the Cermaq Canada broodstock program and search for SNPs associated with growth and age at sexual maturation. Using a mixed model approach we identified markers showing a significant association with growth, grilsing (early sexual maturation) and late sexual maturation. The most significant associations were found for grilsing, with markers located in Ssa10, Ssa02, Ssa13, Ssa25 and Ssa12, and for late maturation with markers located in Ssa28, Ssa01 and Ssa21. A lower level of association was detected with growth on Ssa13. Candidate genes, which were linked to these genetic markers, were identified and some of them show a direct relationship with developmental processes, especially for those in association with sexual maturation. However, the relatively low power to detect genetic markers associated with growth (days to 5 kg) in this GWAS indicates the need to use a higher density SNP array in order to overcome the low levels of linkage disequilibrium observed in Atlantic salmon before the information can be incorporated into a selective breeding program.

BackgroundSalmon Rickettsial Syndrome (SRS) caused by Piscirickettsia salmonis is a major disease affecting the Chilean salmon industry. Genomic selection (GS) is a method wherein genome-wide markers and phenotype information of full-sibs are used to predict genomic EBV (GEBV) of selection candidates and is expected to have increased accuracy and response to selection over traditional pedigree based Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (PBLUP). Widely used GS methods such as genomic BLUP (GBLUP), SNPBLUP, Bayes C and Bayesian Lasso may perform differently with respect to accuracy of GEBV prediction. Our aim was to compare the accuracy, in terms of reliability of genome-enabled prediction, from different GS methods with PBLUP for resistance to SRS in an Atlantic salmon breeding program. Number of days to death (DAYS), binary survival status (STATUS) phenotypes, and 50 K SNP array genotypes were obtained from 2601 smolts challenged with P. salmonis. The reliability of different GS methods at different SNP densities with and without pedigree were compared to PBLUP using a five-fold cross validation scheme.ResultsHeritability estimated from GS methods was significantly higher than PBLUP. Pearson’s correlation between predicted GEBV from PBLUP and GS models ranged from 0.79 to 0.91 and 0.79–0.95 for DAYS and STATUS, respectively. The relative increase in reliability from different GS methods for DAYS and STATUS with 50 K SNP ranged from 8 to 25% and 27–30%, respectively. All GS methods outperformed PBLUP at all marker densities. DAYS and STATUS showed superior reliability over PBLUP even at the lowest marker density of 3 K and 500 SNP, respectively. 20 K SNP showed close to maximal reliability for both traits with little improvement using higher densities.ConclusionsThese results indicate that genomic predictions can accelerate genetic progress for SRS resistance in Atlantic salmon and implementation of this approach will contribute to the control of SRS in Chile. We recommend GBLUP for routine GS evaluation because this method is computationally faster and the results are very similar with other GS methods. The use of lower density SNP or the combination of low density SNP and an imputation strategy may help to reduce genotyping costs without compromising gain in reliability.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3487-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A considerable number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are required to elucidate genotype-phenotype associations and determine the molecular basis of important traits. In this work, we carried out de novo SNP discovery accounting for both genome duplication and genetic variation from American and European salmon populations. A total of 9 736 473 nonredundant SNPs were identified across a set of 20 fish by whole-genome sequencing. After applying six bioinformatic filtering steps, 200 K SNPs were selected to develop an Affymetrix Axiom(®) myDesign Custom Array. This array was used to genotype 480 fish representing wild and farmed salmon from Europe, North America and Chile. A total of 159 099 (79.6%) SNPs were validated as high quality based on clustering properties. A total of 151 509 validated SNPs showed a unique position in the genome. When comparing these SNPs against 238 572 markers currently available in two other Atlantic salmon arrays, only 4.6% of the SNP overlapped with the panel developed in this study. This novel high-density SNP panel will be very useful for the dissection of economically and ecologically relevant traits, enhancing breeding programmes through genomic selection as well as supporting genetic studies in both wild and farmed populations of Atlantic salmon using high-resolution genomewide information.

BackgroundPisciricketssia salmonis is the causal agent of Salmon Rickettsial Syndrome (SRS), which affects salmon species and causes severe economic losses. Selective breeding for disease resistance represents one approach for controlling SRS in farmed Atlantic salmon. Knowledge concerning the architecture of the resistance trait is needed before deciding on the most appropriate approach to enhance artificial selection for P. salmonis resistance in Atlantic salmon. The purpose of the study was to dissect the genetic variation in the resistance to this pathogen in Atlantic salmon.Methods2,601 Atlantic salmon smolts were experimentally challenged against P. salmonis by means of intra-peritoneal injection. These smolts were the progeny of 40 sires and 118 dams from a Chilean breeding population. Mortalities were recorded daily and the experiment ended at day 40 post-inoculation. Fish were genotyped using a 50K Affymetrix® Axiom® myDesignTM Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) Genotyping Array. A Genome Wide Association Analysis was performed on data from the challenged fish. Linear regression and logistic regression models were tested.ResultsGenome Wide Association Analysis indicated that resistance to P. salmonis is a moderately polygenic trait. There were five SNPs in chromosomes Ssa01 and Ssa17 significantly associated with the traits analysed. The proportion of the phenotypic variance explained by each marker is small, ranging from 0.007 to 0.045. Candidate genes including interleukin receptors and fucosyltransferase have been found to be physically linked with these genetic markers and may play an important role in the differential immune response against this pathogen.ConclusionsDue to the small amount of variance explained by each significant marker we conclude that genetic resistance to this pathogen can be more efficiently improved with the implementation of genetic evaluations incorporating genotype information from a dense SNP array.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-2038-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Salmonid rickettsial syndrome (SRS), caused by the intracellular bacterium Piscirickettsia salmonis, is one of the main diseases affecting rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) farming. To accelerate genetic progress, genomic selection methods can be used as an effective approach to control the disease. The aims of this study were: (i) to compare the accuracy of estimated breeding values using pedigree-based best linear unbiased prediction (PBLUP) with genomic BLUP (GBLUP), single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP), Bayes C, and Bayesian Lasso (LASSO); and (ii) to test the accuracy of genomic prediction and PBLUP using different marker densities (0.5, 3, 10, 20, and 27 K) for resistance against P. salmonis in rainbow trout. Phenotypes were recorded as number of days to death (DD) and binary survival (BS) from 2416 fish challenged with P. salmonis. A total of 1934 fish were genotyped using a 57 K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. All genomic prediction methods achieved higher accuracies than PBLUP. The relative increase in accuracy for different genomic models ranged from 28 to 41% for both DD and BS at 27 K SNP. Between different genomic models, the highest relative increase in accuracy was obtained with Bayes C (∼40%), where 3 K SNP was enough to achieve a similar accuracy to that of the 27 K SNP for both traits. For resistance against P. salmonis in rainbow trout, we showed that genomic predictions using GBLUP, ssGBLUP, Bayes C, and LASSO can increase accuracy compared with PBLUP. Moreover, it is possible to use relatively low-density SNP panels for genomic prediction without compromising accuracy predictions for resistance against P. salmonis in rainbow trout.

Sea lice infestations caused by Caligus rogercresseyi are a main concern to the salmon farming industry due to associated economic losses. Resistance to this parasite was shown to have low to moderate genetic variation and its genetic architecture was suggested to be polygenic. The aim of this study was to compare accuracies of breeding value predictions obtained with pedigree-based best linear unbiased prediction (P-BLUP) methodology against different genomic prediction approaches: genomic BLUP (G-BLUP), Bayesian Lasso, and Bayes C. To achieve this, 2404 individuals from 118 families were measured for C. rogercresseyi count after a challenge and genotyped using 37 K single nucleotide polymorphisms. Accuracies were assessed using fivefold cross-validation and SNP densities of 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 25 and 37 K. Accuracy of genomic predictions increased with increasing SNP density and was higher than pedigree-based BLUP predictions by up to 22%. Both Bayesian and G-BLUP methods can predict breeding values with higher accuracies than pedigree-based BLUP, however, G-BLUP may be the preferred method because of reduced computation time and ease of implementation. A relatively low marker density (i.e. 10 K) is sufficient for maximal increase in accuracy when using G-BLUP or Bayesian methods for genomic prediction of C. rogercresseyi resistance in Atlantic salmon.

Piscirickettsia salmonis is one of the main infectious diseases affecting coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) farming, and current treatments have been ineffective for the control of this disease. Genetic improvement for P. salmonis resistance has been proposed as a feasible alternative for the control of this infectious disease in farmed fish. Genotyping by sequencing (GBS) strategies allow genotyping of hundreds of individuals with thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which can be used to perform genome wide association studies (GWAS) and predict genetic values using genome-wide information. We used double-digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing to dissect the genetic architecture of resistance against P. salmonis in a farmed coho salmon population and to identify molecular markers associated with the trait. We also evaluated genomic selection (GS) models in order to determine the potential to accelerate the genetic improvement of this trait by means of using genome-wide molecular information. A total of 764 individuals from 33 full-sib families (17 highly resistant and 16 highly susceptible) were experimentally challenged against P. salmonis and their genotypes were assayed using ddRAD sequencing. A total of 9,389 SNPs markers were identified in the population. These markers were used to test genomic selection models and compare different GWAS methodologies for resistance measured as day of death (DD) and binary survival (BIN). Genomic selection models showed higher accuracies than the traditional pedigree-based best linear unbiased prediction (PBLUP) method, for both DD and BIN. The models showed an improvement of up to 95% and 155% respectively over PBLUP. One SNP related with B-cell development was identified as a potential functional candidate associated with resistance to P. salmonis defined as DD.

We describe an emerging initiative - the ‘Functional Annotation of All Salmonid Genomes’ (FAASG), which will leverage the extensive trait diversity that has evolved since a whole genome duplication event in the salmonid ancestor, to develop an integrative understanding of the functional genomic basis of phenotypic variation. The outcomes of FAASG will have diverse applications, ranging from improved understanding of genome evolution, to improving the efficiency and sustainability of aquaculture production, supporting the future of fundamental and applied research in an iconic fish lineage of major societal importance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3862-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.