There is considerable scope for genetic improvement of cultured blacklip abalone Haliotis rubra in Australia using molecular marker-assisted, selective-breeding practices. Such improvement is dependent on the availability of primary genetic resources, such as a genetic linkage map. This study presents a first-generation linkage map of H. rubra, containing 122 microsatellite markers typed in a single full-sib family. These loci mapped to 17 and 20 linkage groups for the male and female respectively, and when aligned, the consensus map represented 18 linkage groups. The male linkage map contained 102 markers (one unlinked) covering 621 cM with an average intermarker spacing of 7.3 cM, and the female map contained 98 markers (eight unlinked) covering 766 cM with an average intermarker spacing of 9.8 cM. Analysis of markers informative in both parents showed a significantly higher recombination rate in the female parent, with an average male-to-female recombination ratio of 1:1.45 between linked pairs of markers. This linkage map represents a significant advancement in the genetic resource available for H. rubra and provides a framework for future quantitative trait loci mapping and eventual implementation of marker-assisted selection.
Australian abalone species are subject to wild harvest and aquaculture production. This study characterized 125 polymorphic microsatellite markers in the blacklip abalone, Haliotis rubra , and evaluated cross-species amplification in Haliotis laevigata and Haliotis coccoradiata . Segregation analysis of a mapping family revealed non-amplifying polymerase chain reaction null alleles at 34 loci. Cross-species amplification was achieved for 89 loci.
Clarifying population structure of fish stocks is important for the sustainable exploitation of fisheries, along with informing collection of founder broodstock for the genetic improvement of aquaculture programs. Using 16 microsatellite DNA markers, the most comprehensive genetic survey to date (1297 individuals from 49 sample collections) of the population structure and genetic diversity of wild Australian barramundi (Lates calcarifer) was undertaken. The results point to the existence of two distinct genetic stocks (east and west) with isolation by geographic distance (IBD), and a central region of admixture between the stocks, located in an area where a historic land bridge once connected northern Australia with Papua New Guinea. Global levels of population differentiation were moderate (fixation index, FST=0.103, P<0.001) and IBD was identified as a factor influencing population structure across the sampled region. There was also evidence of temporal stability of population genetic structure over a period of 25 years. This study provides valuable information for improving programs of translocation, restocking and captive breeding for both the wild barramundi fishery and the aquaculture industry.
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