Epigenetics and developmental programming of welfare and production traits in farm animals

The concept that postnatal health and development can be influenced by events that occur in utero originated from epidemiological studies in humans supported by numerous mechanistic (including epigenetic) studies in a variety of model species. Referred to as the ‘developmental origins of health and disease’ or ‘DOHaD’ hypothesis, the primary focus of large-animal studies until quite recently had been biomedical. Attention has since turned towards traits of commercial importance in farm animals. Herein we review the evidence that prenatal risk factors, including suboptimal parental nutrition, gestational stress, exposure to environmental chemicals and advanced breeding technologies, can determine traits such as postnatal growth, feed efficiency, milk yield, carcass composition, animal welfare and reproductive potential. We consider the role of epigenetic and cytoplasmic mechanisms of inheritance, and discuss implications for livestock production and future research endeavours. We conclude that although the concept is proven for several traits, issues relating to effect size, and hence commercial importance, remain. Studies have also invariably been conducted under controlled experimental conditions, frequently assessing single risk factors, thereby limiting their translational value for livestock production. We propose concerted international research efforts that consider multiple, concurrent stressors to better represent effects of contemporary animal production systems

Growth of the European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata L.) in situ: Seasonality and ageing using stable oxygen isotopes

International audienceThe ormer, Haliotis tuberculata is the only European abalone species commercially exploited. The determination of growth and age in the wild is an important tool for fisheries and aquaculture management. However, the ageing technique used in the past in the field is unreliable. The stable oxygen isotope composition (18O/16O) of the shell depends on the temperature and oxygen isotope composition of the ambient sea water. The stable oxygen isotope technique, developed to study paleoclimatological changes in shellfish, was applied to three H. tuberculata specimens collected in north-west Brittany. For the specimens collected, the oxygen isotope ratios of the shell reflected the seasonal cycle in the temperature. From winter-to-winter cycles, estimates of the age and the annual growth increment, ranging from 13 to 55 mm per year were obtained. This study shows that stable oxygen isotopes can be a reliable tool for ageing and growth studies of this abalone species in the wild, and for validating other estimates

Domestication modifies behaviour of first generation of domesticated abalone

The domestication of Haliotis tuberculata began recently. During this domestication process, abalone may acquire behavioural and physiological traits to become more adapted to their captive environment. These modifications could be the result of intentional selection on production traits, or of unintentional selection due to specific conditions experienced in the farm environment. In order to study this process, progenies of 3 different broodstock origins were studied. Wild abalone, farmed abalone selected for faster growth at 5% selection pressure and randomly selected farmed abalone were used as broodstock. Farmed abalone were the third generation of abalone resulting from systematic mating between wild and farmed broodstock (either males or females were wild broodstock), without intentional selection. Spawning was induced at 4 different periods, with different broodstock individuals used in the 3 treatments each time. After a 16 month rearing in individual tanks for each spawning (n= 12 tanks in total), offspring from the 3 progenies were individually tagged and placed together in sea‐cages at a density of 75 abalone per cage. Three replicates were used for each spawning period. At the age of 3 years in June 2017, mortality, growth, gonadic development, immune status (phagocytosis efficiency and total haemocyte count) as well as abalone behaviour in different situations (circadian, righting, predator and hiding behaviour) were studied. No differences were observed in term of survival, growth and physiological traits between the 3 progenies. Behavioural and dissection measures are still being analysed. These results suggest that the first stages of selection of H. tuberculata did not induce a significant modification of growth and physiology. Further behavioural analysis will be conducted to confirm this lack of effect

Stress response of farmed European abalone reveals rapid domestication process in absence of intentional selection

WOS:000413795800002International audienceFarming, and thus the domestication of Haliotis tuberculata, began recently. We compared the responses of unselected farmed and wild abalone to stressors that occur on farms. The aim was to determine if the farm environment had induced differences in the behavioural or physiological performances of the abalone. Thirty hatchery-born 3.5 year-old abalone and thirty wild ones were reared under standard farm conditions for 6 months and characterised for 19 traits related to growth, survival, behaviour and immunology. Behavioural and immunological responses to stressors differed between the two stocks. Farmed abalone retracted and swivelled less in reaction to a finger contact. Phagocytosis efficiency was reduced by shaking in abalone from both origins, but the farmed stock returned to the basal level after the recovery week, while wild abalone did not, and a rise of total haemocyte count after shaking and its return to a basal level after one week was only observed for the farmed stock. This indicates that both behaviour and immune responses following a stress have been affected by the farming practices. This suggests that a domestication process has already been initiated in the farmed stock. Our results may also be important for the success of any population enhancement based on hatchery-produced abalone as they raise the question of the capacity of abalone with a fanned origin to be adapted to the wild environment

Relationships between growth, survival, physiology and behaviour — A multi-criteria approach to Haliotis tuberculata phenotypic traits

Abalone growth rate is often identified among important traits to improve through selective breeding. However, the rapid success of some selective breeding plans has sometimes led to negative effects in some aquaculture species due to trade-offs. One of them is the loss of homeostasis of selected animals which results in the inability to resist the stress experienced during the rearing process. In this context, this study aimed to analyze the phenotypic relationships between growth, and physiological and behavioural traits in Haliotis tuberculata under stressful conditions. Eleven traits related to growth, immunity, reproduction and behaviour were recorded under laboratory conditions. A total of 120 adults from wild or farm origin were first monitored during a 3-week stress period (high density and acute stress handling) during winter, followed by 6 months on-growing in sea-cages. Relationships between parameters were analyzed using a multi-factorial approach. Wild and farm stocks could only be discriminated on behaviour traits, confirming that the French abalone industry is in the beginning of the domestication process. After 3 weeks of chronic stress, the righting latency of an abalone was linked to better survival and faster growth. Abalones having the best growth after 6 months were characterized by higher activity during the previous winter period, whereas an early gonad maturation reduced the growth in summer. Our results provide a basis for the establishment of a multi-trait breeding program to improve the growth rate while controlling the evolution of physiological and behavioural traits. Statement of relevance The relationships of behavioural and physiological variables with survival and weight gain after application of important stressors were studied in order to provide a better understanding of Haliotis tuberculata biology during early domestication stage. This paper will give information on new targets and tools for selective breeding

New genetic markers to identify European resistant abalone to vibriosis revealed by high-resolution melting analysis, a sensitive and fast approach

International audienceIncreasing temperature of seawater is often associated with increased exposure incidence of disease in field and in aquaculture populations. Numerous episodic mass mortalities of the abalone Haliotis tuberculata have been observed along the northern Brittany coast of France caused by a complex interaction between the host, pathogen and environmental factors. Here, we evaluated the potential of high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis for mutation genotyping and development of genetic markers for resistance to vibriosis in the gastropod species H. tuberculata. Small amplicon assays were developed and revealed genetic polymorphism between surviving and susceptible abalone obtained after two successive infections of aquaculture families in controlled conditions. Together with specific COI haplotypes, we identified particular genotypes in nascent polypeptide-associated complex subunit alpha and ferritin genes linked to the susceptibility or resistance of abalone to vibriosis. Selection of genitors based on these genes may increase the proportion in offspring of resistant individuals of more than 76 %. Finally, HRM assays constitute a very efficient genotyping tool to validate the genetic markers on a representative number of individuals of wild populations and thus identify future resistant genitors for aquaculture or conservation purpose

Transcriptome based SNP discovery and validation for parentage assignment in hatchery progeny of the European abalone Haliotis tuberculata

Selective breeding strategies require pedigree information over generations, but many species produced in aquaculture are too small to be physically tagged at early stages. Consequently, maintaining a sufficient number of separate families is often needed but costly and logistically difficult. Alternatively, parentage assignment can be obtained using DNA markers. We developed a panel of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for the European abalone Haliotis tuberculata using an existing transcriptomic resource. An initial set of 2,176,887 SNPs was filtered to select 500 for high throughput genotyping. Of these, 298 SNPs were amplified in at least 90% of our H. tuberculata samples, consisting of a mixed family cohort (945 offspring) generated by crossing 40 abalones, and 5 full-sib training families (70 offspring). Based on amplification success among parents, minimum allele frequency and checks carried out against the training families, a subset of 123 markers was used to carry out parentage assignment in our mixed family cohorts. Maximum likelihood and exclusion-based methods of parentage assignment yielded consistent results, allowing parentage to be assigned in 98.9% of the studied progeny. Optimization of markers suggests that the 60 most informative SNPs may be sufficient for 95% assignment success in these progeny. The panel was also used to estimate effective population size, and revealed a low Ne due to high variance of reproductive success between parents. Our panel could be used to estimate genetic parameters of traits in mixed family cohorts, an essential stage to initiate selective breeding in H. tuberculata. It could also be useful tool in the context of monitoring stock enhancement and population genetics studies

Anti-predator response of Haliotis tuberculata is modified after only one generation of domestication

International audienceDomestication of Haliotis tuberculata has only recently begun. During the process, we expect that behavioural and physiological traits may evolve to become more adapted to their captive environment. These modifications may result from intentional selection of production traits or unconscious and unintentional selection due to conditions experienced in the farm environment. To study this process at the earliest stage, the progeny of 3 different broodstocks obtained from wild parents, selected farmed abalone and randomly sampled farmed abalone, were studied. After rearing for 16 mo in separate tanks, offspring from the 3 progenies were placed together in sea cages at the same density. After 3 yr, behavioural traits were studied, and the immune status after a stress situation was assessed. Mortality and growth were also recorded. In spite of the fact that no significant differences were observed in survival, growth or immune status traits between the 3 progenies, less progeny from the selected broodstock performed the complete sequence of anti-predation behaviour, and they took more time to reach their hides compared to the wild progeny. In addition, the shell colours of the selected progeny were more orange and had more stripes compared to the brown-green colour of the wild progeny. Progeny of randomly sampled broodstock showed intermediate responses between those of wild and selected progeny. Our results suggest that associated behavioural trade-offs can take place after only one generation of selection to improve growth. This should be taken into consideration when using selected stocks for ranching or population enhancement programs

The ormer (Haliotis tuberculata): a new and promising paleoclimatic tool.

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