MAS has a great potential to increase the rate of genetic improvement over traditional selective breeding methods. Outcomes from previous efforts to identify and map markers linked to genes affecting important commercial traits in salmon have been limited due to relatively low power of the experimental designs as a result of:
- limited availability of DNA markers
- limited genotyping capacity
- the use of too few and too small families
Therefore these studies captured a relatively small proportion of the genetic variation, and as a result were not able to be effectively translated into MAS.
This project will use a new high density SNP marker map and samples of fish that were challenge tested under the commercial phenotypic recording structure (SalmoBreed), as well as a novel selective DNA pooling methodology that could dramatically reduce the amount of genotyping required in future studies. These are all novel approaches.
In addition, it will utilise advanced molecular inversion probe (MIP) chip based genotyping technology to genotype these samples in a high throughput and efficient manner. This approach will have a very high power to capture the majority of genetic variation and the results will be incorporated into a detailed plan for the practical implementation of MAS for ISA resistance in the Atlantic salmon industry in Norway.
