Genetic markers for flesh quality in farmed fish

遗传标记广泛用于家畜育种计划中以选择具有上级生产性状（例如肉质）的动物。鱼类养殖是一个全球性的增长行业，养殖鲑鱼现在是英国的主要食品出口。与传统的牲畜相比，鱼类物种相对来说是未驯化的，利用遗传标记生产上级养殖品种的工作还处于起步阶段。该后续资助项目的目的是加强大西洋鲑鱼单核苷酸多态性标记的专利申请，这些标记被发现与上级鱼片产量和改善肉质显著相关。需要对更大的鱼类种群进行研究，并研究已知系谱的家族中遗传多态性与质量性状之间的关联，以进行标记的商业验证。该项目还将筛选一系列其他遗传标记，以提高肉质，并将该方法扩展到其他养殖鱼类。

Genetic markers are widely used in livestock breeding programs to select animals with superior production traits, e.g. meat quality. Fish aquaculture is a global growth industry with farmed salmon now a major UK food export. Compared with traditional livestock, fish species are relatively undomesticated and the use of genetic markers to produce superior strains for farming is in its infancy. The aim of this follow-on funding project is to strengthen a patent application for single nucleotide polymorphisms markers in Atlantic salmon that were found to be significantly associated with superior fillet yield and improved flesh quality. Studies with larger populations of fish and of the association between the genetic polymorphisms and quality traits in families of known pedigree are required for the commercial validation of the markers. The project will also screen a pipeline of other genetic markers for enhanced flesh quality and extend the approach to other farmed fish species.