Objective
The project will help to assess the aquacultural advantages stemming from cytogenetic induction of triploidy in the cupped oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and other shellfish from European stocks. Our working hypothesis suggests that food requirements are lower per unit of growth in triploids, reflecting an increase of up to 50% in the efficiency of production, and resulting in reduced time taken to grow to market size. In addition, we will test whether lower food requirements enhance the relative performance of triploids during temperature and/or nutrient stress. Triploids are also expeeted to be sterile. This will confer added benefits that are both economic and social, for without annual reproductive cycles, triploid oysters may be grown and marketed throughout the year. At a more fundamental level, genomic heterozygosity will be compared both for polymorphic enzymes and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in all experimental animals of each chromosome type. This will allow the derivation of genetic linkage maps, provide theoretical insights into the genetic basis of heterozygosity associations with fitness, and indicate whether future genetic breeding should manipulate a selected set of loci, rather than the indiscriminate increase in genetic material by inducing triploids.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
PL1 3DH Plymouth
United Kingdom