REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF OYSTER CULTURE BY SELECTING FOR SPAT THAT MOST EFFICIENTLY USES NATURAL RESOURCES

Abstract

The main objective of this study, was to discover SNPs associated with absorption efficiency in the Eastern oyster, which is a component of feed efficiency, and to use marker-assisted selective breeding to improve growth and efficiency. Absorption efficiency was measured, by collecting water/feed samples and fecal samples, and filtering on to pre-combusted, weighed, glass-fiber filters. Individual absorption efficiency were calculated by comparing the fraction of organic matter in fecal matter versus feed samples. After the trial, all oysters were euthanized, tissue samples were collected to extract DNA and RAD-seq analysis occurred. Bioinformatic analysis was conducted using the software Stacks, analysis was conducted de novo. 17 significant SNPs were discovered in this study that were correlated to high and low AE. SNPs were successfully applied using marker-assisted selection in a broodstock generation and spawned