Genetic analysis reveals differences in mate selection between wild coho salmon and hatched coho salmon

A new study on the genetic profiles of wild coho salmon and hatched coho salmon shows that there are important differences in how the two species of fish form mating pairs

These findings of Oregon State University researchers provide new insights into the subtle differences between wild fish and hatchery fish, which may lead to changes in the mating method of hatchery fish to promote the success of hatchery fish, and Protect wild fish

"Genes allow us to understand things that the human senses cannot perceive

"If we can learn more about how natural-sourced fish mate in the wild, if this is different from the way that hatchery fish mate in the wild, we may be able to collect new information and improve the mating strategy in the hatchery.

The researchers’ findings were recently published in the journal Comprehensive Organic Biology

Due to overfishing, pollution, other losses related to freshwater habitats, and harsh ocean conditions caused by climate change, most of the wild coho salmon, including the Oregon coast and the lower Columbia River, are included in the United States.

Forty years ago, in order to increase the number of salmon, people mainly focused on the production of hatching fish, but it turns out that wild salmon has better reproductive capacity than hatching fish

"This has been proven in four types of salmon, hatching fish that breed in the wild are not as viable as wild fish

Using the genetic material collected from the fin clips, the researchers performed genotyping, scanning the entire genome of a fish, looking for specific markers, and analyzing them to reveal the inheritance of hundreds of wild and hatchery fish Features

They found that both brood fish and wild fish tend to exhibit negative pairings—meaning they look for genetically different mates

But the researchers found that brood fish and wild fish showed negative classification on different genetic markers

"We don't know what the consequences of these genes are," Alder said

Using information from this study and previous work, researchers are now trying to better simulate the natural mating of coho salmon in the incubation environment

For each female, they divide the eggs into two batches
.
Half of the eggs are fertilized with randomly selected males, which is a typical hatchery approach; the other half are fertilized with the "best" males, which are selected based on the genetic information of wild fish mating in their natural environment
.

Banks said: "We are trying to imitate nature
.
" This is not a simple feat, because we have observed from nature that most genes are involved in choosing different partners, but some genes are involved in choosing similar things
.
We are not familiar with other breeding attempts that use both uncoordinated and coordinated strategies in the same mating decision
.
"

Researchers collaborated with Dana Gibbon, a bioinformatics analyst at the Center for Quantitative Life Sciences, to develop a new computer algorithm called MultiFaceted CHOICE.
The males and females who are about to come to the spawning platform provide the best choice
.

The researchers will soon return to the hatchery to mate again for the third year of the three-year experiment
.
This is also the first year they expect to encounter the first return of young male salmon in the first year
.

Alder said: "Some micrometer needles will begin to return this year, and we expect that all returns from next fall to 2025 will come from our experiments
.
" "During this period, we will continue to collect genetic samples to determine whether this process Success
.

"Based on our findings, this may change the way we mate with hatching fish
.
This may cause the fish in the hatchery to look more like wild fish and have less impact on wild fish
.
"

The co-authors of this study are David Jacobson, laboratory manager of the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University, and the Oregon Coast Marine Experimental Station at the Hatfield Marine Science Center at Oregon State University; Adelaide ·Rhodes (Adelaide Rhodes), formerly at Oregon State University's Center for Quantitative Life Sciences, now at the National Institutes of Health
.

This research was funded by the Oregon Hatchery Research Center Fund, which is managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
.

DOI

10.
1093/iob/obab020

Article Title

Differences in Mate Pairings of Hatchery- and Natural-Origin Coho Salmon Inferred from Offspring Genotypes