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The genetics firm AquaGen announced that it has successfully mapped the entire DNA sequence encoding the genes (genome) of lumpfish.
This will allow him to study all the genes that contribute to traits such as growth, disease resistance and sea lice appetite with much greater precision than in the past, he said. .
Sequencing of the lump genome can bring benefits to both industry and research institutes for a variety of research purposes, said Tim Martin Knutsen, Senior Scientist at AquaGen. He worked on the gene sequence in close collaboration with Tina Graceline and Matthew Kent of the Integrative Genetics Center of Norway, or CIGENE (NMBU).
The genome is open for free use and can be downloaded via figshare edition
tool (DOI: 10.6084 / m9.figshare.7301546).
"An important milestone in the egg selection and production program is the discovery of the genes required for sex determination, which can help us examine the differences in growth between genders and lice grazing." , something we know very little about today. "
"We can also select female fish for early breeding and reduce the use of male fish that do not positively contribute to breeding programs or egg production," said Maren Mommens, scientist principal at AquaGen.
Breeders must be raised at Namdal Rensefisk, which, in collaboration with AquaGen, is now completing a state-of-the-art NOK 80 million ($ 9.4 million) niche breeding facility in Flatanger , in Norway.
AquaGen has also developed a research tool consisting of 70,000 gene markers used to detect differences between DNA encoding important traits, he said. This set of high resolution markers is the first to be designed for the lump.
With the genome sequence and information on the location of different genes in the genome, the set of markers allows AquaGen to search for important genes with great precision, Knutsen said.
During the winter of 2018, researchers will launch a provocation test with bacterial diseases (atypical furunculosis and vibriosis), in which they will investigate whether there are genetic differences between different lumpfish in terms of resistance to these diseases.
"We also studied the lumpfish that is kept with salmon in AquaGen's seawater facilities.We count the number of lice that each lumpfish ate while taking a tissue sample for analysis. DNA lice appetite has special genetic variants that we can replicate, "said Mommens.
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