The overall aim of a breeding programme is to breed fish which have an optimal performance in the fish farming environment. Fish which perform best, or can be shown to carry genes giving them the greatest potential for optimal performance, will be used further for breeding.
Breeding programs aim to:
- Adapt the fish to the farm conditions
- Increase the fish's productivity
Unlike treatments such as vaccination or feed modification, the progress derived from breeding in one generation will be inherited by all future generations. The progress made with each generation of breeding accumulates, and these lasting accumulative effects make it extremely profitable to use fish from a well designed and implemented breeding programme in farming. A breeding program needs to be flexible and to adjust to changing circumstances. As breeding goals change the value of the genetic progress made by the breeding programme changes too.
Variation
A prerequisite for breeding is that the characteristics we wish to select are expressed differently in different individuals and that this is at least partially due to genetics (or in other words that the characteristics are heritable). If the characteristic in question is not heritable, or if genetic variation has little influence, it means that the culture environment will largely determine how the characteristic is expressed. Another requirement is controlling the reproduction of the species and the entire life cycle.
Implementing methods
Nofima Marin implements applied breeding and genetics research for a host of farmed species internationally. The research includes the development of molecular markers for use in breeding programmes. We have developed the first QTL-based breeding values in aquaculture and developed models for the use of gene expression to document health status in both fish and human medicine. Our scientists are working to incorporate new methods for analysing the fat and muscle colour of live salmon in breeding programmes, study interaction between genes and are involved in the development of breeding goals for commercial programmes.
Nofima's scientists also have considerable experience in the documentation of the genetic variation of different characteristics and in studying how genes influence each other. Further development of statistical methods and models are of significance within all sectors with which we work. We also implement some research on factors which influence sexual maturation and egg development, as well as on genes which influence muscle growth and fat metabolism.
Further description
