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Genetic architecture of body weight, condition factor and age of sexual maturation in Icelandic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)

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Abstract

The high commercial value from the aquaculture of salmonid fishes has prompted many studies into the genetic architecture of complex traits and the need to identify genomic regions that have repeatable associations with trait variation both within and among species. We searched for quantitative trait loci (QTL) for body weight (BW), condition factor (CF) and age of sexual maturation (MAT) in families of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from an Icelandic breeding program. QTL with genome-wide significance were detected for each trait on multiple Arctic charr (AC) linkage groups (BW: AC-4, AC-20; CF: AC-7, AC-20, AC-23, AC-36; MAT: AC-13/34, AC-39). In addition to the genome-wide significant QTL for both BW and CF on AC-20, linkage groups AC-4, AC-7, AC-8, and AC-16 contain QTL for both BW and CF with chromosome-wide significance. These regions had effects (albeit weaker) on MAT with the exception of the region on AC-8. Comparisons with a North American cultured strain of Arctic charr, as well as North American populations of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), reveal some conservation in QTL location and structure, particularly with respect to the joint associations of QTL influencing BW and CF. The detection of some differences in genetic architecture between the two aquaculture strains of Arctic charr may be reflective of the differential evolutionary histories experienced by these fishes, and illustrates the importance of including different strains to investigate genetic variation in a species where the intent is to use that variation in selective breeding programs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Strategic Projects grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, funds from Hólar University College, Iceland and a Madame Vigdíis Finnbogadóttir Scholarship. We thank Einar Svavarsson for producing and rearing the experimental fish.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road West, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Eva Küttner, Hooman K. Moghadam, Roy G. Danzmann & Moira M. Ferguson

  2. Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-6401, USA

    Hooman K. Moghadam

  3. Hólar University College, Hólar, Hjaltadalur, 551, Sauðarkrókur, Iceland

    Skúli Skúlason

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  1. Eva Küttner
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  2. Hooman K. Moghadam
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  3. Skúli Skúlason
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  4. Roy G. Danzmann
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  5. Moira M. Ferguson
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Correspondence to Moira M. Ferguson.

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Communicated by S. Hohmann.

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Küttner, E., Moghadam, H.K., Skúlason, S. et al. Genetic architecture of body weight, condition factor and age of sexual maturation in Icelandic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). Mol Genet Genomics 286, 67–79 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-011-0628-x

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