Genomic Signatures Predict Migration and Spawning Failure in Wild Canadian Salmon

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 331; no. 6014; pp. 214 - 217
• Main Authors: Miller, Kristina M, Li, Shaorong, Kaukinen, Karia H, Ginther, Norma, Hammill, Edd, Curtis, Janelle M.R, Patterson, David A, Sierocinski, Thomas, Donnison, Louise, Pavlidis, Paul, Hinch, Scott G, Hruska, Kimberly A, Cooke, Steven J, English, Karl K, Farrell, Anthony P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 14.01.2011; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: adults; Agnatha. Pisces; Animal and plant ecology; Animal Migration; Animal migration behavior; Animal populations; Animal reproduction; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Attrition (Research Studies); Biological and medical sciences; Canada; Cytogenetics; Demecology; Female; Fish; Fish Diseases - genetics; Fish Diseases - immunology; Fish Diseases - mortality; Fish harvest; Fish migration; Fresh water; Freshwater fishes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Genome; Genomics; Gills; Grounds; Male; Marine fishes; Migration; Mortality; Ocean fisheries; Oceans; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Oncorhynchus nerka; Pacific Ocean; Population Dynamics; population viability; Principal Component Analysis; Raw materials; Remote Sensing Technology; Reproduction; Rivers; Salmon; Salmon - genetics; Salmon - physiology; Signatures; Spawning; Spawning grounds; Stress, Physiological; Survival Analysis; Tagging; Vertebrata; Virus Diseases - genetics; Virus Diseases - immunology; Virus Diseases - mortality; Virus Diseases - veterinary; Canada; Pacific Ocean; Infection; Virus; Oncorhynchus nerka; Vertebrata; Correlation; Pisces; Mortality; Animal migration; Genome; Survival
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1196901

Long-term population viability of Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) is threatened by unusually high levels of mortality as they swim to their spawning areas before they spawn. Functional genomic studies on biopsied gill tissue from tagged wild adults that were tracked through ocean and river environments revealed physiological profiles predictive of successful migration and spawning. We identified a common genomic profile that was correlated with survival in each study. In ocean-tagged fish, a mortality-related genomic signature was associated with a 13.5-fold greater chance of dying en route. In river-tagged fish, the same genomic signature was associated with a 50% increase in mortality before reaching the spawning grounds in one of three stocks tested. At the spawning grounds, the same signature was associated with 3.7-fold greater odds of dying without spawning. Functional analysis raises the possibility that the mortality-related signature reflects a viral infection.