Linkage Disequilibrium in Wild and Cultured Populations of Pacific Oyster(Crassostrea gigas)

Linkage disequilibrium(LD) can be applied for mapping the actual genes responsible for variation of economically important traits through association mapping.The feasibility and efficacy of association studies are strongly dependent on the extent of LD which determines the number and density of markers in the studied population,as well as the experimental design for an association analysis.In this study,we first characterized the extent of LD in a wild population and a cultured mass-selected line of Pacific oyster(Crassostrea gigas).A total of 88 wild and 96 cultured individuals were selected to assess the level of genome-wide LD with 53 microsatellites,respectively.For syntenic marker pairs,no significant association was observed in the wild population;however,three significant associations occurred in the cultured population,and the significant LD extended up to 12.7 c M,indicating that strong artificial selection is a key force for substantial increase of genome-wide LD in cultured population.The difference of LD between wild and cultured populations showed that association studies in Pacific oyster can be achieved with reasonable marker densities at a relatively low cost by choosing an association mapping population.Furthermore,the frequent occurrence of LD between non-syntenic loci and rare alleles encourages the joint application of linkage analysis and LD mapping when mapping genes in oyster.The information on the linkage disequilibrium in the cultured population is useful for future association mapping in oyster.     

Genome-wide mining,characterization, and development of microsatellite markers in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Marsupenaeus japonicus</Emphasis> by genome survey sequencing

The kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus, is one of the most cultivated and consumed species of shrimp. However, very few molecular genetic/genomic resources are publically available for it. Thus, the characterization and distribution of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) remains ambiguous and the use of SSR markers in genomic studies and marker-assisted selection is limited. The goal of this study is to characterize and develop genome-wide SSR markers in M. japonicus by genome survey sequencing for application in comparative genomics and breeding. A total of 326 945 perfect SSRs were identified, among which dinucleotide repeats were the most frequent class (44.08%), followed by mononucleotides (29.67%), trinucleotides (18.96%), tetranucleotides (5.66%), hexanucleotides (1.07%), and pentanucleotides (0.56%). In total, 151 541 SSR loci primers were successfully designed. A subset of 30 SSR primer pairs were synthesized and tested in 42 individuals from a wild population, of which 27 loci (90.0%) were successfully amplified with specific products and 24 (80.0%) were polymorphic. For the amplified polymorphic loci, the alleles ranged from 5 to 17 (with an average of 9.63), and the average PIC value was 0.796. A total of 58 256 SSR-containing sequences had significant Gene Ontology annotation; these are good functional molecular marker candidates for association studies and comparative genomic analysis. The newly identified SSRs significantly contribute to the M. japonicus genomic resources and will facilitate a number of genetic and genomic studies, including high density linkage mapping, genome-wide association analysis, marker-aided selection, comparative genomics analysis, population genetics, and evolution.     

Genome-wide mining,characterization, and development of microsatellite markers in Marsupenaeus japonicus by genome survey sequencing

The kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus, is one of the most cultivated and consumed species of shrimp. However, very few molecular genetic/genomic resources are publically available for it. Thus, the characterization and distribution of simple sequence repeats(SSRs) remains ambiguous and the use of SSR markers in genomic studies and marker-assisted selection is limited. The goal of this study is to characterize and develop genome-wide SSR markers in M. japonicus by genome survey sequencing for application in comparative genomics and breeding. A total of 326 945 perfect SSRs were identified, among which dinucleotide repeats were the most frequent class(44.08%), followed by mononucleotides(29.67%), trinucleotides(18.96%), tetranucleotides(5.66%), hexanucleotides(1.07%), and pentanucleotides(0.56%). In total, 151 541 SSR loci primers were successfully designed. A subset of 30 SSR primer pairs were synthesized and tested in 42 individuals from a wild population, of which 27 loci(90.0%) were successfully amplified with specific products and 24(80.0%) were polymorphic. For the amplified polymorphic loci, the alleles ranged from 5 to 17(with an average of 9.63), and the average PIC value was 0.796. A total of 58 256 SSR-containing sequences had significant Gene Ontology annotation; these are good functional molecular marker candidates for association studies and comparative genomic analysis. The newly identified SSRs significantly contribute to the M. japonicus genomic resources and will facilitate a number of genetic and genomic studies, including high density linkage mapping, genome-wide association analysis, marker-aided selection, comparative genomics analysis, population genetics, and evolution.     

Genome-wide survey and analysis of microsatellites in the Pacific oyster genome: abundance,distribution, and potential for marker development

Microsatellites are a ubiquitous component of the eukaryote genome and constitute one of the most popular sources of molecular markers for genetic studies. However, no data are currently available regarding microsatellites across the entire genome in oysters, despite their importance to the aquaculture industry. We present the fi rst genome-wide investigation of microsatellites in the Pacifi c oyster Crassostrea gigas by analysis of the complete genome, resequencing, and expression data. The Pacifi c oyster genome is rich in microsatellites. A total of 604 653 repeats were identifi ed, in average of one locus per 815 base pairs(bp). A total of 12 836 genes had coding repeats, and 7 332 were expressed normally, including genes with a wide range of molecular functions. Compared with 20 different species of animals, microsatellites in the oyster genome typically exhibited 1) an intermediate overall frequency; 2) relatively uniform contents of(A)n and(C)n repeats and abundant long(C)n repeats(≥24 bp); 3) large average length of(AG)n repeats; and 4) scarcity of trinucleotide repeats. The microsatellite-fl anking regions exhibited a high degree of polymorphism with a heterozygosity rate of around 2.0%, but there was no correlation between heterozygosity and microsatellite abundance. A total of 19 462 polymorphic microsatellites were discovered, and dinucleotide repeats were the most active, with over 26% of loci found to harbor allelic variations. In all, 7 451 loci with high potential for marker development were identifi ed. Better knowledge of the microsatellites in the oyster genome will provide information for the future design of a wide range of molecular markers and contribute to further advancements in the fi eld of oyster genetics, particularly for molecular-based selection and breeding.     

QTL Detection for Albinism-Related Loci in Chinese Tongue Sole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cynoglossus semilaevis</Emphasis>)

The Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) is widely cultured in the coastal region of East Asia and has excellent economic value. However, the high albino rate of the breeding population has caused a significant loss to the aquaculture industry. To study the molecular mechanism of albinism, the present study used an albino Chinese tongue sole family to construct three simple sequence repeat (SSR) linkage groups, and draft a preliminary linkage map related to albinism. After albinism-related loci mapping, 18 albinism-related loci were detected under two models (containing 2407 genes) compared to the Chinese tongue sole genome. One of these loci, the tyrosinase related protein (tyrp2), which has been reported previously as an important gene regulating both eumelanin and phaeomelanin levels, was indicated to be the possible cause of albinism. Thirty-five Gene Ontology (GO) terms and 14 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome pathways were annotated via bioinformatic analyses. One GO term with protein tyrosine kinase activity, which contained 10 genes, was previously suggested to affect fish albinism. These results establish a foundation for further in-depth study of albinism in Chinese tongue sole.     

Development and Characterization of Microsatellite Markers for the Pacific Abalone （Haliotis discus） via EST Database Mining

The EST database of the Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus) was mined for developing mierosatellite markers. A total of 1476 EST sequences were registered in GenBank when data mining was performed. Fifty sequences (approximately 3.4%) were found to contain one or more mierosatellites. Based on the length and GC content of the flanking regions, duster analysis and BLASTN, 13 microsatellite-containing ESTs were selected for PCR primer design. The results showed that 10 out of 13 primer pairs could amplify seorable PCR products and showed polymorphism. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 13 and the values of Hoand He varied from 0.1222 to 0.8611 and 0.2449 to 0.9311, respectively. No significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) between any pairs of these loci was found, and 6 of 10 loci conformed to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). These EST-SSRs are therefore potential tools for studies of intraspecies variation and hybrid identification.     

Quantitative trait loci detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Edwardsiella tarda</Emphasis> resistance in Japanese flounder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralichthys olivaceus</Emphasis> using bulked segregant analysis

In recent years, Edwardsiella tarda has become one of the most deadly pathogens of Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), causing serious annual losses in commercial production. In contrast to the rapid advances in the aquaculture of P. olivaceus, the study of E. tarda resistance-related markers has lagged behind, hindering the development of a disease-resistant strain. Thus, a marker-trait association analysis was initiated, combining bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping. Based on 180 microsatellite loci across all chromosomes, 106 individuals from the F1333 (♀: F0768 ×♂: F0915) (Nomenclature rule: F+year+family number) were used to detect simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and QTLs associated with E. tarda resistance. After a genomic scan, three markers (Scaffold 404-21589, Scaffold 404-21594 and Scaffold 270-13812) from the same linkage group (LG)-1 exhibited a significant difference between DNA, pooled/bulked from the resistant and susceptible groups (P <0.001). Therefore, 106 individuals were genotyped using all the SSR markers in LG1 by single marker analysis. Two different analytical models were then employed to detect SSR markers with different levels of significance in LG1, where 17 and 18 SSR markers were identified, respectively. Each model found three resistance-related QTLs by composite interval mapping (CIM). These six QTLs, designated qE1–6, explained 16.0%–89.5% of the phenotypic variance. Two of the QTLs, qE-2 and qE-4, were located at the 66.7 cM region, which was considered a major candidate region for E. tarda resistance. This study will provide valuable data for further investigations of E. tarda resistance genes and facilitate the selective breeding of disease-resistant Japanese flounder in the future.     

Development of genomic microsatellite multiplex PCR using dye-labeled universal primer and its validation in pedigree analysis of Pacific oyster (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassostrea gigas</Emphasis>)

There is an increasing requirement for traceability of aquaculture products, both for consumer protection and for food safety. There are high error rates in the conventional traceability systems depending on physical labels. Genetic traceability technique depending on DNA-based tracking system can overcome this problem. Genealogy information is essential for genetic traceability, and microsatellite DNA marker is a good choice for pedigree analysis. As increasing genotyping throughput of microsatellites, microsatellite multiplex PCR has become a fast and cost-effective technique. As a commercially important cultured aquatic species, Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas has the highest global production. The objective of this study was to develop microsatellite multiplex PCR panels with dye-labeled universal primer for pedigree analysis in C. gigas, and these multiplex PCRs were validated using 12 full-sib families with known pedigrees. Here we developed six informative multiplex PCRs using 18 genomic microsatellites in C. gigas. Each multiplex panel contained a single universal primer M13(?21) used as a tail on each locus-specific forward primer and a single universal primer M13(?21) labeled with fluorophores. The polymorphisms of the markers were moderate, with an average of 10.3 alleles per locus and average polymorphic information content of 0.740. The observed heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.492 to 0.822. Cervus simulations revealed that the six panels would still be of great value when massive families were analysed. Pedigree analysis of real offspring demonstrated that 100% of the offspring were unambiguously allocated to their parents when two multiplex PCRs were used. The six sets of multiplex PCRs can be an important tool for tracing cultured individuals, population genetic analysis, and selective breeding program in C. gigas.     

大珠母贝主要污损及寄居生物的研究

研究雷州半岛自然生活条件、养殖条件下的野生贝和全人工养殖条件下的养殖贝主要污损及寄居生物。结果表明:大珠母贝主要污损及寄居生物共46种,其中自然生活条件下野生贝的污损及寄居生物有24种,养殖条件下野生贝的污损与寄居生物42种,养殖贝的污损及寄居生物有31种;根据附着或寄居部位可将大珠母贝污损及寄居生物可分为4种类型:贝壳表面附生型、贝壳层寄居型、贝壳内侧寄居型、外套腔寄居型;海绵、缨鳃虫、龙介沙蚕、长鳃树蛰虫为贝壳表面附生型主要种类,砗磲江珧虾为外套腔寄居型种类,对大珠母贝危害较小;石蛏、开腹蛤、厥目革囊星虫、有盾海扇虫、才女虫、钻穿裂虫为贝壳层寄居型的主要种类;吻蛇稚虫为贝壳内侧寄居型,对大珠母贝危害较大。自然生活条件下野生贝主要危害种类为石蛏、开腹蛤、厥目革囊星虫、才女虫、钻穿裂虫,养殖条件下野生贝主要危害种类有石蛏、开腹蛤、厥目革囊星虫、有盾海扇虫、吻蛇稚虫、才女虫、钻穿裂虫;养殖贝受寄居生物危害较小。     

Inheritance mode of microsatellite loci and their use for kinship analysis in the Pacific oyster （Crassostrea gigas）

Five full-sib families of the Pacific oyster （Crassostrea gigas） larvae were used to study the mode of inheritance at eight microsatellite loci, and the feasibility of these markers for kinship estimate was also examined. All eight microsatellite loci were compatible with Mendelian inheritance. Neither evidence of sex-linked barriers to transmission nor evidence of major barriers to fertilization between gametes from the parents was shown. Three of the eight loci showed the presence of null alleles in four families, demonstrating the need to conduct comprehensive species-specific inheritance studies for microsatellite loci used in population genetic studies. Although the null allele heterozygotes were considered as homozygotes in the calculation of genetic distance, offspring from five full-sib families were unambiguously discriminated in the neighbor-joining dendrogram. This result indicates that the microsatellite markers may be capable of discriminating between related and unrelated oyster larvae in the absence of pedigree information, and is applicable to the investigation of the effective number of parents contributing to the hatchery population of the Pacific oyster.     

The loss of genetic diversity during captive breeding of the endangered sculpin, Trachidermus fasciatus, based on ISSR markers: implications for its conservation

Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to determine the genetic variation and genetic differentiation of cultured and wild populations of Trachidermus fasciatus, an endangered catadromous fish species in China. Six selected primers were used to amplify DNA samples from 85 individuals, and 353 loci were detected. Relatively low genetic diversity was detected in the cultured population (the percentage of polymorphic loci PPL = 73.80%, Nei’s gene diversity h = 0.178 2, Shannon information index ...     

Relationship Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphism of Glycogen Synthase Gene of Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas and Its Glycogen Content

Glycogen is important not only for the energy supplementary of oysters, but also for human consumption. High glycogen content can improve the stress survival of oyster. A key enzyme in glycogenesis is glycogen synthase that is encoded by glycogen synthase gene GYS. In this study, the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) in coding regions of Crassostrea gigas GYS(Cg-GYS) and individual glycogen content was investigated with 321 individuals from five full-sib families. Single-strand conformation polymorphism(SSCP) procedure was combined with sequencing to confirm individual SNP genotypes of Cg-GYS. Least-square analysis of variance was performed to assess the relationship of variation in glycogen content of C. gigas with single SNP genotype and SNP haplotype. As a consequence, six SNPs were found in coding regions to be significantly associated with glycogen content(P 0.01), from which we constructed four main haplotypes due to linkage disequilibrium. Furthermore, the most effective haplotype H2(GAGGAT) had extremely significant relationship with high glycogen content(P 0.0001). These findings revealed the potential influence of Cg-GYS polymorphism on the glycogen content and provided molecular biological information for the selective breeding of good quality traits of C. gigas.     

Genetic mapping and QTL analysis for body weight in Jian carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian) compared with mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

We report the genetic linkage map of Jian carp(C yprinus carpio var. Jian). An F1 population comprising 94 Jian carp individuals was mapped using 254 microsatellite markers. The genetic map spanned 1 381.592 c M and comprised 44 linkage groups,with an average marker distance of 6.58 c M. We identified eight quantitative trait loci(QTLs) for body weight(BW) in seven linkage groups,explaining 12.6% to 17.3% of the phenotypic variance. Comparative mapping was performed between Jian carp and mirror carp( Cyprinus carpio L.),which both have 50 chromosomes. One hundred and ninety-eight Jian carp marker loci were found in common with the mirror carp map,with 186(93.94%) showing synteny. All 44 Jian carp linkage groups could be one-to-one aligned to the 44 mirror carp linkage groups,mostly sharing two or more common loci. Three QTLs for BW in Jian carp were conserved in mirror carp. QTL comparison suggested that the QTL confidence interval in mirror carp was more precise than the homologous interval in Jian carp,which was contained within the QTL interval in Jian carp. The syntenic relationship and consensus QTLs between the two varieties provide a foundation for genomic research and genetic breeding in common carp.     

Development of Genomic Microsatellite Multiplex PCR Using Dye-Labeled Universal Primer and Its Validation in Pedigree Analysis of Pacific Oyster(Crassostrea gigas)

There is an increasing requirement for traceability of aquaculture products, both for consumer protection and for food safety. There are high error rates in the conventional traceability systems depending on physical labels. Genetic traceability technique depending on DNA-based tracking system can overcome this problem. Genealogy information is essential for genetic traceability, and microsatellite DNA marker is a good choice for pedigree analysis. As increasing genotyping throughput of microsatellites, microsatellite multiplex PCR has become a fast and cost-effective technique. As a commercially important cultured aquatic species, Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas has the highest global production. The objective of this study was to develop microsatellite multiplex PCR panels with dye-labeled universal primer for pedigree analysis in C. gigas, and these multiplex PCRs were validated using 12 full-sib families with known pedigrees. Here we developed six informative multiplex PCRs using 18 genomic microsatellites in C. gigas. Each multiplex panel contained a single universal primer M13(-21) used as a tail on each locus-specific forward primer and a single universal primer M13(-21) labeled with fluorophores. The polymorphisms of the markers were moderate, with an average of 10.3 alleles per locus and average polymorphic information content of 0.740. The observed heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.492 to 0.822. Cervus simulations revealed that the six panels would still be of great value when massive families were analysed. Pedigree analysis of real offspring demonstrated that 100% of the offspring were unambiguously allocated to their parents when two multiplex PCRs were used. The six sets of multiplex PCRs can be an important tool for tracing cultured individuals, population genetic analysis, and selective breeding program in C. gigas.     

QTL Detection for Albinism-Related Loci in Chinese Tongue Sole(Cynoglossus semilaevis)

The Chinese tongue sole(Cynoglossus semilaevis) is widely cultured in the coastal region of East Asia and has excellent economic value. However, the high albino rate of the breeding population has caused a significant loss to the aquaculture industry. To study the molecular mechanism of albinism, the present study used an albino Chinese tongue sole family to construct three simple sequence repeat(SSR) linkage groups, and draft a preliminary linkage map related to albinism. After albinism-related loci mapping, 18 albinism-related loci were detected under two models(containing 2407 genes) compared to the Chinese tongue sole genome. One of these loci, the tyrosinase related protein(tyrp2), which has been reported previously as an important gene regulating both eumelanin and phaeomelanin levels, was indicated to be the possible cause of albinism. Thirty-five Gene Ontology(GO) terms and 14 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome pathways were annotated via bioinformatic analyses. One GO term with protein tyrosine kinase activity, which contained 10 genes, was previously suggested to affect fish albinism. These results establish a foundation for further in-depth study of albinism in Chinese tongue sole.     

Offspring of aged mothers of rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus shows lower sexual propensity than their elder siblings under crowded conditions

Maternal effects are one of the most interesting topics in evolutionary ecology as they can affect the rate of evolution and population dynamics by phenotypic manipulation of offspring related to fitness.At present,studies examining the interaction between maternal environment effects and maternal age(birth order)effects are scarce.We designed an experiment to reveal whether environmentally induced maternal manipulation works equally on offspring across birth orders in rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus.In the experiment,newborn amictic mothers(FO)were cultured parallelly in low(LD)and high(HD)population density.Offspring(F_1)of young(YF_0)and old(OF_0)mothers in both LD and HD groups were cultured under a crowded condition and the mixis ratios of both F_1 and F_2 were examined.Results show that F_1 from HD-YF_0 had a significantly higher mixis ratio and those amictic ones produced daughters(F_2)with higher mixis ratio in response to crowding than those from HD-OF_0.In contrast,no such differences among F_1 siblings were found in the LD-F_0 group.Therefore,the effect of maternal age on the sexual propensity of the offspring can be affected independently by the maternal population density.     

马氏珠母贝黄壳色选育系G_1遗传结构的ISSR分析

挑选11个黄壳色的马氏珠母贝养殖个体为亲本繁殖子代群体,并随机选取50个体为亲本,建立对照群体。采用ISSR分子标记对马氏珠母贝黄壳色群体和对照群体的遗传结构差异进行分析。结果表明,黄壳色和对照群体的遗传多样性分别为0.358 7和0.373 3,多态位点比例分别为86.89%和90.16%;群体间遗传分化系数为3.75%。可见,经过一代选择后,黄壳色群体遗传结构指标略低于对照群体,但两个群体未发生明显分化。     

军曹鱼全人工繁殖群体遗传特征的SSR分析

利用8个微卫星DNA位点分析南海海域5个军曹鱼全人工繁育群体(HN1、HN2、ZJ、FJ和LS)子代的遗传多样性特征和群体间遗传分化。结果显示,军曹鱼养殖群体与天然群体的遗传结构特征基本一致:1)平均有效等位基因数为3.910±0.440,观测杂合度为0.595±0.049,分子方差分析(AMOVA)表明,个体内分化占主导(46%),军曹鱼养殖群体整体遗传多样性较高;2)群体间基因流明显(N_m=2.5959,F_(st)=0.0878),整体分化程度较低。各养殖群体表现出不同于天然大群体的特征:1)绝大部分位点均明显偏离哈温平衡,杂合子缺失或过剩现象普遍存在;2)聚类和群体分配分析等表明HN2与另四个养殖群体(HN1、ZJ、FJ和LS)分化明显。     

Inheritance of 15 microsatellites in the Pacific oyster <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassostrea gigas</Emphasis>: segregation and null allele identification for linkage analysis

Microsatellites were screened in a backcross family of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Fifteen microsatellite loci were distinguishable and polymorphic with 6 types of allele-combinations. Null alleles were detected in 46.7% of loci, accounting for 11.7% of the total alleles. Four loci did not segregate in Mendelian Ratios. Three linkage groups were identified among 7 of the 15 segregating loci. Fluorescence-based automated capillary electrophoresis (ABI 310 Genetic Analyzer) that used to detect the microsatellite loci, has been proved a fast, precise, and reliable method in microsatellite genotyping. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO.40730845, 39825121)