Heritability of juvenile growth traits in red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus L.)

• Published in: Aquaculture research Vol. 38; no. 8; pp. 781 - 788
• Main Authors: Saillant, Eric, Ma, Liang, Wang, Xiaoxue, Gatlin, Delbert M. III, Gold, John R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2007; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: growth rate; heritability; Marine; microsatellite repeats; microsatellites; red drum; Sciaenops ocellatus; USA
• ISSN: 1355-557X; 1365-2109
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2109.2007.01737.x

Heritability of juvenile growth rate was estimated for red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), an economically important sciaenid fish in the southern USA. Thirty-eight families were generated via 'natural' spawning of multiple sets of five breeders (three dams x two sires) in individual brood tanks. Offspring were individually tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags and mixed for grow-out in replicate 'common-garden' tanks. Juvenile growth was followed from 166.4±18.6 to 254.0±27.0 mm (total length). Offspring were assigned a posteriori to individual brood fish (dam and sire) based on genotypes at nuclear-encoded microsatellites. Heritability (h²) of a thermal growth coefficient was estimated using an animal-additive model and a restricted maximum-likelihood algorithm. Estimates of h² were 0.33±0.08 and 0.31±0.08 for thermal growth coefficient based on length and weight respectively. These results indicate a significant genetic component in juvenile growth rate in red drum. Estimates of h² for condition coefficient (K) at various measurement dates averaged 0.38, suggesting a genetic component to shape in juvenile red drum.