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Rainbow trout is one of the most popular aquaculture species worldwide, with a long history of domestication. However, limited information exists about the genetic diversity of farmed rainbow trout populations globally, with most available reports relying on low‐throughput genotyping technologies. Notably, no information exists about the genetic diversity status of farmed rainbow trout in Sweden. Double‐digest restriction‐site‐associated DNA sequencing was performed on more than 500 broodfish from two leading producers in Sweden and from the country's national breeding program. Following the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), genetic diversity was studied by using either individual SNPs (n = 8680; one SNP retained per 300 bp sequence reads) or through SNP haplotypes (n = 20 558; all SNPs retained in 300 bp sequence reads). Similar amounts of genetic diversity were found amongst the three populations when individual SNPs were used. Furthermore, principal component analysis and discriminant analysis of principal components suggested two genetic clusters with the two industry populations grouped together. Genetic differentiation based on the FST fixation index was ~0.01 between the industry populations and ~0.05 when those were compared with the breeding program. Preliminary estimates of effective population size (Ne) and inbreeding (based on runs of homozygosity; FROH) were similar amongst the three populations (Ne ≈ 50–80; median FROH ≈ 0.11). Finally, the haplotype‐based analysis suggested that animals from the breeding program had higher shared coancestry levels than those from the other two populations. Overall, our study provides novel insights into the genetic diversity and structure of Sweden's three main farmed rainbow trout populations, which could guide their future management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) is a niche‐market high‐value species for Nordic aquaculture. Similar to other salmonids, both anadromous and landlocked populations are encountered. Whole‐genome re‐sequencing (22X coverage) was performed on two farmed populations of anadromous (Sigerfjord; n = 24) and landlocked (Arctic Superior; n = 24) origin from Norway and Sweden respectively. More than 5 million SNPs were used to study their genetic diversity and to scan for selection signatures. The two populations were clearly distinguished through principal component analysis, with the mean fixation index being ~0.12. Furthermore, the levels of genomic inbreeding estimated from runs of homozygosity were 6.23% and 8.66% for the Norwegian and the Swedish population respectively. Biological processes that could be linked to selection pressure associated primarily with the anadromous background and/or secondarily with domestication were suggested. Overall, our study provided insights regarding the genetic composition of two main strains of farmed Arctic charr from Scandinavia. At the same time, ample genomic resources were produced in the magnitude of millions of SNPs that could assist the transition of Nordic Arctic charr farming in the genomics era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Routine implementation of genomic information for guiding selection decisions is not yet common in the majority of aquaculture species. Reduced representation sequencing approaches offer a cost‐effective solution for obtaining genome‐wide information in species with a limited availability of genomic resources. In the current study, we implemented double‐digest restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD‐seq) on an Arctic charr strain with the longest known history of selection (approximately 40 years) aiming to improve selection decisions. In total, 1730 animals reared at four different farms in Sweden and spanning from year classes 2013–2017 were genotyped using ddRAD‐seq. Approximately 5000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, genetic diversity‐related metrics were estimated, and genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) for body length at different time points and age of sexual maturation were conducted. Low genetic differentiation amongst animals from the different farms was observed based on both the results from pairwise Fst values and principal component analysis (PCA). The existence of associations was investigated between the mean genome‐wide heterozygosity of each full‐sib family (year class 2017) and the corresponding inbreeding coefficient or survival to the eyed stage. A moderate correlation (−0.33) was estimated between the mean observed heterozygosity of each full‐sib family and the corresponding inbreeding coefficient, while no linear association was obtained with the survival to the eyed stage. GWAS did not detect loci with major effect for any of the studied traits. However, genomic regions explaining more than 1% of the additive genetic variance for either studied traits were suggested across 14 different chromosomes. Overall, key insights valuable for future selection decisions of Arctic charr have been obtained, suggesting ddRAD as an attractive genotyping platform for obtaining genome‐wide information in a cost‐effective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rufiji tilapia (Oreochromis urolepis urolepis) is an endemic cichlid in Tanzania. In addition to its importance for biodiversity conservation, Rufiji tilapia is also attractive for farming due to its high growth rate, salinity tolerance, and the production of all‐male hybrids when crossed with Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). The aim of the current study was to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of both wild and farmed Rufiji tilapia populations in order to inform conservation and aquaculture practices. Double‐digest restriction‐site‐associated DNA (ddRAD) libraries were constructed from 195 animals originating from eight wild (Nyamisati, Utete, Mansi, Mindu, Wami, Ruaha, Kibasira, and Kilola) and two farmed (Bwawani and Chemchem) populations. The identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; n = 2,182) were used to investigate the genetic variation within and among the studied populations. Genetic distance estimates (Fst) were low among populations from neighboring locations, with the exception of Utete and Chemchem populations (Fst = 0.34). Isolation‐by‐distance (IBD) analysis among the wild populations did not detect any significant correlation signal (r =.05; p‐value =.4) between the genetic distance and the sampling (Euclidean distance) locations. Population structure and putative ancestry were further investigated using both Bayesian (Structure) and multivariate approaches (discriminant analysis of principal components). Both analysis indicated the existence of three distinct genetic clusters. Two cross‐validation scenarios were conducted in order to test the efficiency of the SNP dataset for discriminating between farmed and wild animals or predicting the population of origin. Approximately 95% of the test dataset was correctly classified in the first scenario, while in the case of predicting for the population of origin 68% of the test dataset was correctly classified. Overall, our results provide novel insights regarding the population structure of Rufiji tilapia and a new database of informative SNP markers for both conservation management and aquaculture activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) is a species of high economic value for the aquaculture industry, and of high ecological value due to its Holarctic distribution in both marine and freshwater environments. Novel genome sequencing approaches enable the study of population and quantitative genetic parameters even on species with limited or no prior genomic resources. Low coverage genotyping by sequencing (GBS) was applied in a selected strain of Arctic charr in Sweden originating from a landlocked freshwater population. For the needs of the current study, animals from year classes 2013 (171 animals, parental population) and 2017 (759 animals; 13 full sib families) were used as a template for identifying genome wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). GBS libraries were constructed using the PstI and MspI restriction enzymes. Approximately 14.5K SNPs passed quality control and were used for estimating a genomic relationship matrix. Thereafter a wide range of analyses were conducted in order to gain insights regarding genetic diversity and investigate the efficiency of the genomic information for parentage assignment and breeding value estimation. Heterozygosity estimates for both year classes suggested a slight excess of heterozygotes. Furthermore, FST estimates among the families of year class 2017 ranged between 0.009 - 0.066. Principal components analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) were applied aiming to identify the existence of genetic clusters among the studied population. Results obtained were in accordance with pedigree records allowing the identification of individual families. Additionally, DNA parentage verification was performed, with results in accordance with the pedigree records with the exception of a putative dam where full sib genotypes suggested a potential recording error. Breeding value estimation for juvenile growth through the usage of the estimated genomic relationship matrix clearly outperformed the pedigree equivalent in terms of prediction accuracy (0.51 opposed to 0.31). Overall, low coverage GBS has proven to be a cost-effective genotyping platform that is expected to boost the selection efficiency of the Arctic charr breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tilapia hatcheries in Tanzania rely heavily on importing germplasm. Nevertheless, the genetic structure of the imported stocks is poorly understood. In the current study, the level of genetic diversity and differentiation of eight populations of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) strains imported in Tanzania was investigated. Four of the studied strains originated from Thailand, three from Uganda, and one from the Netherlands. Double-digest restriction site–associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq) was applied to identify and genotype single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In total, 2214 SNPs passed all the quality control steps and were utilized for downstream analysis. Mean heterozygosity estimates were higher for the Thailand strains (Ho, 0.23) compared with the strains from Uganda (Ho, 0.12). Low genetic distance was observed amongst populations from the same geographic origin (Fst, 0.01–0.04). However, genetic distance between populations from different geographic origins was substantial (Fst, 0.24–0.44). Bayesian model–based clustering (STRUCTURE) and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) grouped the studied animals into three distinct clusters. A cross-validation approach (where 25% of animals from each population were considered of unknown origin) was conducted in order to test the efficiency of the SNP dataset for identifying the population of origin. The cross-validation procedure was repeated 10 times resulting in approximately 97% of the tested animals being allocated to the correct geographic population of origin. The breeding history and hatchery practices used to manage these stocks prior and after import appear to be the main factors for the genetic diversity observed in this study. Our study will help inform hatchery stock management and future breeding program designs in Tanzania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding population structure and genetic diversity within and between local Nile tilapia lines cultured in Tanzania is important for sustainable aquaculture production. This study investigated the genetic structure and diversity among seven Nile tilapia populations in Tanzania (Karanga, Igunga, Ruhila, Fisheries Education and Training Agency, Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Kunduchi, and Lake Victoria). Double-digest restriction site-associated DNA (ddRAD) libraries were prepared from 140 individual fish (20 per population) and sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq 4000 resulting in the identification of 2,180 informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Pairwise Fst values revealed strong genetic differentiation between the closely related populations; FETA, Lake Victoria, and Igunga and those from TAFIRI and Karanga with values ranging between 0.45 and 0.55. Population structure was further evaluated using Bayesian model-based clustering (STRUCTURE) and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC). Admixture was detected among Karanga, Kunduchi, and Ruhila populations. A cross-validation approach (25% of individual fish from each population was considered of unknown origin) was conducted in order to test the efficiency of the SNP markers to correctly assign individual fish to the population of origin. The cross-validation procedure was repeated 10 times resulting in 77% of the tested individual fish being allocated to the correct population. Overall our results provide a new database of informative SNP markers for both conservation management and aquaculture activities of Nile tilapia strains in Tanzania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]