Quantitative trait loci for body growth and sex determination in the hermaphrodite teleost fish Sparus aurataL

• Published in: Animal genetics Vol. 43; no. 6; p. 753
• Main Authors: Loukovitis, D, Sarropoulou, E, Batargias, C, Apostolidis, A P, Kotoulas, G, Tsigenopoulos, CS, Chatziplis, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.12.2012
• Subjects: Fish; Genomes; Genomics
• ISSN: 0268-9146; 1365-2052
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2012.02346.x

Summary Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) is an important marine fish in Mediterranean aquaculture. Sex determination by age and/or body weight is a critical life-history trait, the genetic basis for which is largely unknown in this sequential hermaphrodite species. Herein, we performed a partial genome scan to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting body weight and sex using 74 informative microsatellite markers from 10 paternal half-sib families to construct nine linkage groups (LG). In total, four growth-related QTL (two chromosome-wide and two genome-wide) and six QTL related to sex determination (three pairs in three different LGs) were detected (two chromosome-wide and one genome-wide). The proportion of phenotypic variation explained by the body-weight QTL ranged from 9.3% to 17.2%, showing their potential for use in marker-assisted selection. The results obtained offer solid ground to investigate the structure and function of the genomic regions involved in the mechanisms of sex reversal. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]