Establishment and application of a microsatellite‐based parentage identification method for Oreochromis niloticus , O. aureus , and O. niloticus  ×  O. aureus

Abstract

In genetic fish breeding research, clear pedigree information is of great significance for breeding and parental management. In order to establish a stable, highly accurate, and widely applicable parentage identification method for tilapia, 13 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci within populations of Oreochromis niloticus, O. aureus, O. niloticus × O. aureus, and their mixed population were screened. Four groups of fluorescent‐labeled multiple capillary electrophoresis were established for allelic genotyping. The assignment success rate reached 100% when 7, 9, 8 and 12 loci were used in the population of O. niloticus, O. aureus, O. niloticus × O. aureus, and their mixed population, respectively. All 175 progeny individuals of “Yuemin No. 1” tilapia were exclusively assigned to their parental pairs when the 12 loci for the mixed population were used. This study established a fluorescent‐labeled microsatellite‐based parentage assignment method for O. niloticus, O. aureus, O. niloticus × O. aureus, and their mixed population with high identification accuracy and efficiency, which lays a foundation for pedigree information and population genetic management in tilapia breeding.