Objective
The purpose of this project is to identify the diversity existing among natural populations of sea bass in order to assess their respective performances and characteristics on profitable traits. It is what we call a testing programme.
The work realized in 1998 consisted in four meetings.
During the first meeting, all partners were invited to jointly decide the general organization of the group. Four scientific meetings were planned during the two years of the project and a final meeting was scheduled to synthesize the conclusions and write the proposal. The discussed topics were listed and panels of experts were composed. Finally, the place and the date of each meeting were fixed.
The second session ("Identification of commercial traits and strategies for a strain ranking") permitted to decide on which criteria the testing programme will be based. Here, producers were concerted to get the industrial point of view. In the report, the demands defining the fish market trends as well as the fish farmers' requirements are presented. The consumers demand is heterogeneous between countries and the soaring role of supermarkets in the distribution chain is pointed out. A list of priority traits has been established taking into account both the consumers and the producers demand. It concerns the growth, the quality and processing related traits, the disease resistance, the survival, the maturation and malformations. Tools available to measure these traits are considered. Finally, the first steps of the testing programme are discussed. Expected genetic data are defined and required testing facilities and conditions are proposed. Different crossing designs are presented with their respective advantages and disadvantages.
The third meeting ("Identification and evaluation of population variability") called for the very last data concerning the structuring in space of wild sea bass populations. Different types of markers are already available on the species; their characteristics are presented in the report. A differentiation (geographical and ecological) between populations has been revealed using allozyme and microsatellite markers. Based on microsatellites, genetic discreteness suggests a differentiation between populations of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern and western Mediterranean Basin. Based on allozymes, it is possible to discriminate between fish living in coastal and lagoonal environments. Carefulness should be taken when choosing sites for sampling, in relation with the biology of the species but also with transplanted populations. At least three places are recommended for sampling: an Atlantic, an eastern and a western Mediterranean.
During the last meeting ("Strategies for comparison"), talks concentrated on the crossing design and the multi-site approach of the testing programme. The use of both industrial and laboratory structures was proposed. Discussions focused as well on particular topics such as challenges to reveal possible resistance sources, the protection of the environment from "genetic pollutions" and the integration of new organisms such as clones and hybrids in the project. The minute of this meeting is not included in the progress report, it will be presented in the final handbook.
The next meeting is scheduled on March 1999 in Italy. The topic discussed will be about the "Progenies rearing". The amount of breeders to be kept, the zootechnical and genetic management of these stocks will be debated. The partners will standardise their rearing procedures from assisted fertilisation to on-growing stage. Further to these talks, a second session will gather together scientists and producers interested in the project in order to decide practically who will take part to the project and in what conditions. A this stage, the magnitude of the collaboration will determine the success of the multi-site testing programme.
The last meeting will take place in Spain in September. It will synthesize conclusions of the other meetings. The proposal for realizing a testing programme will be written.
Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) has a growing significance in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin. In 1997, the whole production was estimated at 23 000 T (1995: 14 000 T). Like any other species produced industrially, the genetic improvement is a key point in the full development of the production sector. Till today, only few attention has been given to this aspect.
Before initiating any selective breeding programme, it is necessary to evaluate the global genetic variability available. Concerning sea bass, this variability is mainly present in the wild, as no real domestication has occurred till now.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genetic selection
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
34250 Palavas-les-Flots
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.