24 research outputs found

    Salmo salar and Esox lucius full-length cDNA sequences reveal changes in evolutionary pressures on a post-tetraploidization genome

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Salmonids are one of the most intensely studied fish, in part due to their economic and environmental importance, and in part due to a recent whole genome duplication in the common ancestor of salmonids. This duplication greatly impacts species diversification, functional specialization, and adaptation. Extensive new genomic resources have recently become available for Atlantic salmon (<it>Salmo salar</it>), but documentation of allelic versus duplicate reference genes remains a major uncertainty in the complete characterization of its genome and its evolution.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From existing expressed sequence tag (EST) resources and three new full-length cDNA libraries, 9,057 reference quality full-length gene insert clones were identified for Atlantic salmon. A further 1,365 reference full-length clones were annotated from 29,221 northern pike (<it>Esox lucius</it>) ESTs. Pairwise d<sub>N</sub>/d<sub>S </sub>comparisons within each of 408 sets of duplicated salmon genes using northern pike as a diploid out-group show asymmetric relaxation of selection on salmon duplicates.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>9,057 full-length reference genes were characterized in <it>S. salar </it>and can be used to identify alleles and gene family members. Comparisons of duplicated genes show that while purifying selection is the predominant force acting on both duplicates, consistent with retention of functionality in both copies, some relaxation of pressure on gene duplicates can be identified. In addition, there is evidence that evolution has acted asymmetrically on paralogs, allowing one of the pair to diverge at a faster rate.</p

    Resolving fine-scale population structure and fishery exploitation using sequenced microsatellites in a northern fish

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    Funding Information Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Strategic Project Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation grants allocated to the Labrador Institute (MC) Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Genomics Research and Development Initiative (GRDI) Weston Family AwardPeer reviewedPublisher PD

    Feeding rates and abundance of marine invertebrate planktonic larvae under harmful algal bloom conditions off Vancouver Island

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    13 pages, 7 figures, 6 tablesThe interactions between toxic phytoplankton and their potential grazers are poorly understood aspects of the ecology of harmful algal blooms. In this study, we determined the feeding rates, prey selection and trophic impact of different marine invertebrate planktonic larvae on the natural bloom of Heterosigma akashiwo and Prorocentrum triestinum which occurred on the west coast of Vancouver Island in July of 2006. Additionally, we estimated the abundance, biomass and composition of zooplankton before and during the harmful algal bloom. Feeding experiments were performed with polychaete (Serpula columbiana), echinoderm (Stronglyocentratus purpuratus) and cirripede (Balanus crenatus) larvae obtained from laboratory cultures, and bivalve and gastropod larvae collected from the study site by plankton tows. All larvae fed on H. akashiwo whereas only cirripede nauplii and echinoderm larvae fed on P. triestinum. H. akashiwo was the main component of all larval diets (>64%). We observed a positive relationship between prey availability in the food assemblages and their contribution to all larval diets. The potential trophic impact of meroplanktonic larvae on bloom forming phytoplankton species was low (<1.5%). The ingestion of bloom forming phytoplankton did not appear to have any adverse effects on the studied grazers after 48 h of incubation. In contrast, field abundance of planktonic larvae and other zooplankton continuously decreased throughout the progression of the bloom, with losses approaching 75% in comparison to their pre-bloom abundance. The presence of H. akashiwo negatively affected the abundance of meroplanktonic larvae, despite efficient grazing of these larvae. Therefore, grazing pressure was reduced which likely contributed to the growth and persistence of the bloom. The reduction in meroplanktonic larvae and other zooplankton abundance associated with the H. akashiwo bloom may have potential impacts on benthic recruitment and energy transfers to higher trophic levels in marine food websA Ph.D. fellowship to RA (BES-2005-7491) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) and a TRU CUEF award to AMM funded this work. The research was also supported by MICROROL (CTM2004-02775) research project from MICINN to RA and an NSERC Discovery grant to LAGPeer reviewe

    Genomic evidence of recent European introgression into North American farmed and wild Atlantic salmon

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    Gene flow between wild and domestic populations has been repeatedly demonstrated across a diverse range of taxa. Ultimately, the genetic impacts of gene flow from domestic into wild populations depend both on the degree of domestication and the original source of the domesticated population. Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, used in North American aquaculture are ostensibly of North American origin. However, evidence of European introgression into North American aquaculture salmon has accumulated in recent decades, even though the use of diploid European salmon has never been approved in Canada. The full extent of such introgression as well as the potential impacts on wild salmon in the Northwest Atlantic remains uncertain. Here, we extend previous work comparing North American and European wild salmon (n = 5799) using a 220 K SNP array to quantify levels of recent European introgression into samples of domestic salmon, aquaculture escapees, and wild salmon collected throughout Atlantic Canada. Analysis of North American farmed salmon (n = 403) and escapees (n = 289) displayed significantly elevated levels of European ancestry by comparison with wild individuals (p < 0.001). Of North American farmed salmon sampled between 2011 and 2018, ~17% had more than 10% European ancestry and several individuals exceeded 40% European ancestry. Samples of escaped farmed salmon similarly displayed elevated levels of European ancestry, with two individuals classified as 100% European. Analysis of juvenile salmon collected in rivers proximate to aquaculture locations also revealed evidence of elevated European ancestry and larger admixture tract in comparison to individuals collected at distance from aquaculture. Overall, our results demonstrate that even though diploid European salmon have never been approved for use in Canada, individuals of full and partial European ancestry have been in use over the last decade, and that some of these individuals have escaped and hybridized in the wild

    Genomics of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria): expressed genes, mitochondrial phylogeny, linkage map and identification of a putative sex gene

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    Abstract Background The sablefish (order: Scorpaeniformes) is an economically important species in commercial fisheries of the North Pacific and an emerging species in aquaculture. Aside from a handful of sequences in NCBI and a few published microsatellite markers, little is known about the genetics of this species. The development of genetic tools, including polymorphic markers and a linkage map will allow for the successful development of future broodstock and mapping of phenotypes of interest. The significant sexual dimorphism between females and males makes a genetic test for early identification of sex desirable. Results A full mitochondrial genome is presented and the resulting phylogenetic analysis verifies the placement of the sablefish within the Scorpaeniformes. Nearly 35,000 assembled transcript sequences are used to identify genes and obtain polymorphic SNP and microsatellite markers. 360 transcribed polymorphic loci from two sablefish families produce a map of 24 linkage groups. The sex phenotype maps to sablefish LG14 of the male map. We show significant conserved synteny and conservation of gene-order between the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus and sablefish. An additional 1843 polymorphic SNP markers are identified through next-generation sequencing techniques. Sex-specific markers and sequence insertions are identified immediately upstream of the gene gonadal-soma derived factor (gsdf), the master sex determinant locus in the medaka species Oryzias luzonensis. Conclusions The first genomic resources for sablefish provide a foundation for further studies. Over 35,000 transcripts are presented, and the genetic map represents, as far as we can determine, the first linkage map for a member of the Scorpaeniformes. The observed level of conserved synteny and comparative mapping will allow the use of the stickleback genome in future genetic studies on sablefish and other related fish, particularly as a guide to whole-genome assembly. The identification of sex-specific insertions immediately upstream of a known master sex determinant implicates gsdf as an excellent candidate for the master sex determinant for sablefish

    The Genome and Linkage Map of the Northern Pike (<i>Esox lucius</i>): Conserved Synteny Revealed between the Salmonid Sister Group and the Neoteleostei

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    <div><p>The northern pike is the most frequently studied member of the Esociformes, the closest order to the diverse and economically important Salmoniformes. The ancestor of all salmonids purportedly experienced a whole-genome duplication (WGD) event, making salmonid species ideal for studying the early impacts of genome duplication while complicating their use in wider analyses of teleost evolution. Studies suggest that the Esociformes diverged from the salmonid lineage prior to the WGD, supporting the use of northern pike as a pre-duplication outgroup. Here we present the first genome assembly, reference transcriptome and linkage map for northern pike, and evaluate the suitability of this species to provide a representative pre-duplication genome for future studies of salmonid and teleost evolution. The northern pike genome sequence is composed of 94,267 contigs (N50 = 16,909 bp) contained in 5,688 scaffolds (N50 = 700,535 bp); the total scaffolded genome size is 878 million bases. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that over 96% of the protein-coding genome is present in the genome assembly. The reference transcriptome was constructed from 13 tissues and contains 38,696 transcripts, which are accompanied by normalized expression data in all tissues. Gene-prediction analysis produced a total of 19,601 northern pike-specific gene models. The first-generation linkage map identifies 25 linkage groups, in agreement with northern pike's diploid karyotype of 2N = 50, and facilitates the placement of 46% of assembled bases onto linkage groups. Analyses reveal a high degree of conserved synteny between northern pike and other model teleost genomes. While conservation of gene order is limited to smaller syntenic blocks, the wider conservation of genome organization implies the northern pike exhibits a suitable approximation of a non-duplicated Protacanthopterygiian genome. This dataset will facilitate future studies of esocid biology and empower ongoing examinations of the Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout genomes by facilitating their comparison with other major teleost groups.</p></div
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