Heterogeneous genetic basis of age at maturity in salmonid fishes

Understanding the genetic basis of repeated evolution of the same phenotype across taxa is a fundamental aim in evolutionary biology and has applications in conservation and management. However, the extent to which interspecific life-history trait polymorphisms share evolutionary pathways remains underexplored. Here, we address this gap by studying the genetic basis of a key life-history trait, age at maturity, in four species of Pacific salmonids (genus Oncorhynchus) that exhibit intra- and interspecific variation in this trait-Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, and Steelhead Trout. We tested for associations in all four species between age at maturity and two genome regions, six6 and vgll3, that are strongly associated with the same trait in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). We also conducted a genome-wide association analysis in Steelhead to assess whether additional regions were associated with this trait. We found the genetic basis of age at maturity to be heterogeneous across salmonid species. Significant associations between six6 and age at maturity were observed in two of the four species, Sockeye and Steelhead, with the association in Steelhead being particularly strong in both sexes (p = 4.46 x 10(-9) after adjusting for genomic inflation). However, no significant associations were detected between age at maturity and the vgll3 genome region in any of the species, despite its strong association with the same trait in Atlantic Salmon. We discuss possible explanations for the heterogeneous nature of the genetic architecture of this key life-history trait, as well as the implications of our findings for conservation and management.Peer reviewe

Divergent life-history races do not represent Chinook salmon coast-wide: the importance of scale in Quaternary biogeography

The dynamic Quaternary geology of the Pacific Ring of Fire created substantial challenges for biogeography. Fish life history and population genetic variation were shaped by climate change, repeated formation and subsidence of ice sheets, sea-level change, volcanism and tectonics, isostatic rebound, and now human activities. It is widely recognized in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) that parallel evolution and phenotypic plasticity have obscured range-wide patterns of life-history segregation with evolutionary lineage, yet the idea of the lineages themselves persists. We employed a large, internationally standardized, microsatellite data set to explore population structure at coast-wide scale and test for two divergent lineages, whether or not related to life history. We found at least 27 distinct lineages. However, relationships among groups were poorly resolved - essentially a star phylogeny. We found pervasive isolation by distance among groups, complicating cluster analysis. Only in the interior Columbia River (east of the Cascade Mountains) is there a deep genetic bifurcation that supports both the two-lineage hypothesis and the life-history segregation hypothesis. This broad-scale perspective helps reconcile different views of Chinook salmon phylogeography and life-history distribution.Keywords: Wire tag recoveries, North America, British Columbia, Reproductive isolation, Genetic popoulation structure, Columbia River Basin, Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha, Mitochondrial DNA variation, Pacific Salmon, Sockeye salmonThis is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by NRC Research Press and can be found at: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com

Anthropogenic effects to genetic diversity and life history strategies of Oncorhynchus mykiss /by Shawn R. Narum.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, 2006

Dryad Table 1-cand genes within lineages

Candidate genes within each phylogenetic lineage of Chinook salmon

Modified NebNext PoolSeq Protocol

Current version of NEBNext ultra fragmentase protocol for pooled sequencing

Data from: Utility of pooled sequencing for association mapping in non-model organisms

High density genome-wide sequencing increases the likelihood of discovering genes of major effect and genomic structural variation in organisms. While there is an increasing availability of reference genomes across broad taxa, the greatest limitation to whole-genome sequencing of multiple individuals continues to be the costs associated with sequencing. To alleviate excessive costs, pooling multiple individuals with similar phenotypes and sequencing the homogenized DNA (Pool-Seq) can achieve high genome coverage, but at the loss of individual genotypes. Although Pool-Seq has been an effective method for association mapping in model organisms, it has not been frequently utilized in natural populations. To extend bioinformatic tools for rapid implementation of Pool-Seq data in non-model organisms, we developed a pipeline called PoolParty and illustrate its effectiveness in genetic association mapping. Alignment expectations based on five pooled Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) libraries showed that approximately 48% genome coverage per library could be achieved with reasonable sequencing effort. We additionally examined male and female O. tshawytscha libraries to illustrate how Pool-Seq techniques can successfully map known genes associated with functional differences among sexes such as growth hormone 2. Finally, we compared pools of individuals of different spawning ages for each sex to discover novel genes involved with age at maturity in O. tshawytscha such as opsin4 and transmembrane protein19. While not appropriate for every system, Pool-Seq data processed by the PoolParty pipeline is a practical method for identifying genes of major effect in non-model organisms when high genome coverage is necessary and cost is a limiting factor

Data from: Development of 54 novel SNP assays for sockeye and coho salmon and assessment of available SNPs to differentiate stocks within the Columbia River

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