Response to bidirectional selection for naupliar length in Artemia franciscana

Bidirectional mass selection for naupliar length was practised in Artemia franciscana from Great Salt Lake, UT, USA, with the aim of developing two divergent lines, namely small naupliar size (SNS) and bigger naupliar size (BNS). A random‐bred control line was also maintained to quantify the environmental effects. The mean naupliar length in the base population was 486.99±2.11 μm in males and 490.58±1.82 μm in females. Six generations of selection for smaller naupliar size in the SNS line resulted in a phenotypic response of –45.32 μm and –37.52 μm decreases in naupliar size in males and females respectively. In the BNS line, responses (increase in size) from five generations of selection for bigger size were 8.59 μm and 35.80 μm respectively. The cumulative genetic gain in males and females of the SNS were –41.72 μm and –38.76 μm compared with 12.64 μm and 39.48 μm, respectively, in the BNS line.     

Genetic parameters of growth and survival in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas is a representative bivalve mollusc that is widely cultured in the world and is the largest molluscan group cultured in China. In order to assess the feasibility of improving survival of C. gigas through genetic selection, the heritability and genetic correlations for growth and survival traits between different life stages were examined. Genetic parameters were estimated based on intraclass correlations of 49 full‐sib families (29 half‐sib families) in larvae (4 and 20 days after fertilization) and spat (140 days after fertilization) stages. The heritability for growth traits in larvae and spat was 0.30–0.86 and 0.53–0.59, respectively, and varied with ages. The heritability of survival was low in larvae (0.13 ± 0.05 and 0.17 ± 0.04, respectively for 4 and 20 days after fertilization) but medium (0.39 ± 0.07) in spat, suggesting that selection for increasing spat survival was feasible. The genetic correlation between growth traits within age was medium to high and positive (ranging from 0.47 to 0.96, respectively, between shell length (SL) and shell height (SH) at 20 days and between SL and SH at 140 days after fertilization), suggesting that selection to improve single growth trait will cause positive response in another growth traits in C. gigas. The genetic correlations between survival and growth traits at 140 days were low but positive (ranging from 0.23 to 0.27, respectively, between survival and SH and between survival and SL at 140 days after fertilization), suggesting that selection for survival may not have a negative response in growth. Overall, this study suggests that survival traits should be taken as improving target of next selection breeding programme in C. gigas.     

Heritabilities and genetic correlations of size traits at harvest size in sexually dimorphic Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) grown in two environments

A captive population of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) replicated in two environments was evaluated for genetic variability and covariability of size traits. A total of 37 full‐sib families, each with an average of 16–20 individuals within family, were used for the analysis. There was no family by environment interaction for any of the traits. However, both fixed effects, sex and environment, were significant. The shrimp grown in environment ‘B’ (Sinaloa) grew larger and heavier than those grown in environment ‘A’ (La Paz), possibly because of the higher temperatures and lower densities in the first one during grow‐out. The females were significantly larger than the males for all traits, except for abdominal (tail) length and weight. The heritabilities, estimated through MTDFREML (multiple‐trait derivative‐free restricted maximum likelihood) after introducing environment and sex as fixed effects, were total length 0.22±0.07, abdominal length 0.23±0.07, cephalothorax length 0.17±0.06, total weight 0.17±0.06, abdominal weight 0.18±0.06, cephalothorax weight 0.15±0.06, and width of the first abdominal segment (0.14±0.05). Genetic correlations (r_g) were high between the length and weight (total and abdominal), but lower for cephalothorax weight or length with the other traits. The width of the first abdominal segment correlations with other traits was intermediate.     

Estimating reproductive success of brooders and heritability of growth traits in Asian sea bass (Lates calcarifer) using microsatellites

Asian sea bass (Lates calcarifer) is one of the most important marine food fish species in Asia and Australia. To estimate the reproductive success of broodstock and heritabilities of growth‐related traits, two independent full‐factorial crosses (PI and PII) were created by crossing 10 males and 10 females. At 90 days post hatch (dph), the body weight (BW) and total length (TL) of 804 individuals from PI and 900 individuals from PII were measured and tissues samples of each fish were collected. Parents and offspring were genotyped with nine polymorphic microsatellites. Out of 1704 offspring from the two crosses, 98.7% were assigned to their parents. In PI, 19 of 20 parents produced offspring, while in PII, only five parents contributed to offspring. Low contribution of parents to offspring could lead to reduced genetic variation in the next generation. Heritabilities for growth‐related traits were estimated using the pedigrees reconstructed using microsatellite genotypes. The estimates of heritability were 0.22±0.16 and 0.25±0.18 for BW, 0.31±0.14 and 0.24±0.21 for TL and 0.22±0.22 and 0.15±0.09 for Fulton's condition factor in the two crosses respectively. Body weights at 90 dph and at harvest (289 dph) were significantly correlated (r=0.601, P<0.01). Therefore, growth‐related traits could be improved by exploiting additive genetic effects through selective breeding, and broodstock candidates could be selected early in the production cycle.     

Heritability for growth traits in giant freshwater prawn,Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Mann 1879) based on best linear unbiased prediction methodology

In this study, heritability was estimated for growth‐related traits of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) before and after morphological sexual differentiation. Estimation was made on data from 16 full‐sib and eight half‐sib families. The variance estimation was performed using a univariate mixed linear animal model and variance components were analysed following an animal model using restricted maximum likelihood procedure using average information algorithm. Heritability estimates (h²) varied considerably with ages. At 2 months old, h²for carapace length (CL; 0.35±0.15) and body weight (BW; 0.26±0.13) were higher than those estimated at 5 months old, based on mixed sex data. However, when data were sorted by sex, h² calculated from data of females were higher than those of males for CL (0.26±0.16 vs. 0.10±0.06), BW (0.28±0.17 vs. 0.12±0.08), body length (0.40±0.17 vs. 0.11±0.07), total length (0.47±0.18 vs. 0.11±0.07) and claw length (0.29±0.16 vs. 0.03±0.04). The same trend was observed for traits at 6 months old in both bulk and individual rearing.     

Efficacy of selection in sexually breeding Artemia (Artemia franciscana,Kellogg, 1906)

Bi‐directional selection for smaller naupliar size (SNS) and bigger naupliar size (BNS) was practiced to develop two divergent lines. The efficacy of bi‐directional mass selection in Artemia franciscana was evaluated by comparing the predicted genetic gains with the realized genetic gains. Two sets of predictions were made using two heritability estimates, e.g., the heritability estimate from full‐sib analysis (h²) and the estimate from regression of offspring on mid parent (b_op). Predictions with the full‐sib heritabilities were of very high magnitude as compared with predictions with b_op heritabilities. The predictions based on b_op were more or less in agreement with realized genetic gain, while the predictions with heritability estimates based on full‐sib analysis were much higher than the realized gains. Ratios of realized gain to predicted gain based on full‐sib heritabilities were 0.2302 and 0.2152, respectively, for males and females of the SNS line, and 0.0471 and 0.2248, respectively, for males and females of the BNS line. Ratios of realized gain to predicted gain based on b_op were 1.5348 and 0.6069 for males and females of the SNS line and 0.1028 and 0.9503 for males and females of the BNS line. Ratios of realized gain to predicted gain based on full‐sib heritability were of low magnitude in all the cases as the heritability estimates based on full‐sib analysis were inflated by non‐additive genetic variance. The ratios of realized gain to predicted gain based on b_op were high in both sexes of SNS and females of BNS, indicating high efficacy of selection as b_op includes only additive genetic variance. However, it was of low magnitude in BNS males. Thus, the heritability estimates based on regression of offspring on mid parent (b_op) are more reliable than that of heritability estimates based on full‐sib analysis (h²) for predicting the selection response in Artemia.     

Phenotypic and genetic parameters for body traits in the giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in India

Phenotypic and genetic parameters were estimated for three body traits (harvest weight, carapace length and standard length) and for adult male morphotypes of the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii in a fully pedigreed synthetic population in India. The data set included 9,173 progeny produced over four generations from 162 sires and 234 dams. Variance components and genetic parameters were estimated fitting an animal model using the residual maximum‐likelihood methodology. The heritabilities for harvest body weight (HW), carapace length (CL) and standard length (SL) were moderate (0.22 ± 0.056, 0.22 ± 0.055 and 0.25 ± 0.059 respectively). The common environmental effects for HW, CL and SL were 0.10 ± 0.020, 0.08 ± 0.018 and 0.10 ± 0.021 respectively. As M. rosenbergii is sexually dimorphic, we estimated heritabilities within each sex. Heritability of HW in females (0.27 ± 0.068) was greater than that in males (0.15 ± 0.057). CL and SL followed the same pattern. The occurrence of male morphotypes is a unique characteristic of adult populations of M. rosenbergii. Populations from culture ponds exhibit a wide range of sizes. To examine whether there was a heritable component in male morphotype frequencies, we treated male morphotypes as traits. The additive genetic variance (and hence the heritability) was zero for male morphotype, indicating that selective breeding to increase the proportion of desirable male morphotypes would not be effective. The genetic correlations among body traits were all positive, high and approaching unity. The results are discussed in relation to selection plans for the giant freshwater prawn.     

Effects of the individual rearing stage on the growth traits of candidate giant freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii)

In most breeding programs of Macrobrachium rosenbergii, the candidate parents will go through an overwintering period of individual rearing stage (IRS) after the communal rearing stage (CRS). To study whether environmental differences affect the growth traits of candidate parents, the heritability (h²) and genotype by environment (G?×?E) interaction were estimated for harvest body weight (HBW) and average daily weight gain (ADG) in CRS and IRS. The HBWs and ADGs of 3,242 candidate parents from 111 families were recorded at the two stages. The h² estimated for the HBW and ADG in the CRS were medium to high (0.333?±?0.205 and 0.284?±?0.173) and decreased to a medium magnitude in the IRS (0.158?±?0.032 and 0.171?±?0.034). The heritabilities for HBW and ADG were higher in females than that of males in CRS, but the situation reversed in IRS. No significant differences were found in heritabilities of HBW and ADG between males and females in the two stages (P?>?0.05). For HBW, the genetic correlations between the two stages were 0.32?±?0.18 for all candidates, 0.98?±?0.021 for females and 0.073?±?0.24 for males. For ADG, the genetic correlations between the two stages were???0.37?±?0.16 for all candidates,???0.079?±?0.20 for females and???0.51?±?0.18 for males. The IRS had an obvious influence on the growth traits of candidates, especially for males. To select parents more accurately, growth in the IRS should also be taken into consideration in parent selection and mating schemes in breeding programs of M. rosenbergii.

     

Heritability estimates of larval and spat shell height in the Chilean blue mussel (Mytilus chilensis Hupe 1854) produced under controlled laboratory conditions

The heritability of larval size is estimated in Mytilus chilensis, based on a nested design, involving 95 full‐sib and 19 half‐sib families (19 males each mated to 5 separated females) grown under controlled laboratory conditions. The half‐sib heritability estimates at 10, 25 and 40 days for larval and spat shell height ranged between 0.38±0.33 and 0.84±0.45, suggesting that selection for shell size would be effective.     

Reproductive performance,survival and development of nauplii and copepodites,sex ratio and adult life expectancy of the harpacticoid copepod,Euterpina acutifrons,fed different microalgal diets

A series of laboratory experiments were conducted on the harpacticoid copepod, Euterpina acutifrons, to assess the influence of 10 different microalgal diets (four monoalgal and six mixed algal diets) on several parameters related to its productivity in culture. The four monoalgal diets were the Tahitian strain of Isochrysis sp. (T‐Iso), Pavlova salina (Pav), Tetraselmis chuii (Tet) and the diatom Chaetoceros muelleri (Chaet), the five binary diets were T‐Iso+Tet, Pav+Tet, T‐Iso+Pav, Tet+Chaet and Pav+Chaet, while the tri‐algal diet was T‐Iso+Tet+Pav. All diets were fed to copepods at 1500 μ gC L^?1 and in the case of binary or trialgal diets, carbon concentration was divided equally between the two or three algae offered. Among monoalgal diets, the diatom Chaet was excellent for E. acutifrons. Out of the 10 diets tested, the binary diet Tet+Chaet, which contained the diatom Chaet, was the best for naupliar production of single pair E. acutifrons (19.5±1.7 nauplii female^?1 day^?1), significantly (P<0.05) higher than all other treatments except for the Chaet treatment (P>0.05). Similarly, in the group naupliar production trial (50 adult E. acutifrons per replicate), Tet+Chaet produced a significantly higher number of nauplii (405.8±18.6 nauplii day^?1) than the other treatments (P<0.05). Tet+Chaet further supported the highest naupliar survival (82.0±2.8%) and copepodite survival (89.0±2.8%), while the mono‐algal diet Chaet produced the second highest naupliar (76.7±2.6%) and copepodite survival (83.5±2.6%). In contrast, Pav produced the lowest overall survival at the naupliar stage (30.0±2.9%), significantly lower than all other treatments (P<0.05). While development from newly hatched nauplii to copepodites was not significantly affected by diets, mean development time from nauplius to adult was significantly different among treatments. Mean development time from hatching (naupliar I stage; NI) to the adult stage was the fastest with Tet+Chaet and Chaet (6.8±0.0 days for both treatments), which was significantly faster than that of Pav, T‐Iso Pav+Tet and T‐Iso+Pav+Te treatment (P<0.05). E. acutifrons sex ratio was significantly affected by diets, and always skewed in favour of males. Feeding on Pav resulted in the lowest proportion of females (23.7±1.2%), significantly lower than for six of the other treatments (P<0.05). Adult females had longer average life expectancy than males for all treatments, and were the longest when fed Tet+Chaet (9.5±0.4 days), which was more than twice as long as the shortest lifespan recorded for the Pav treatment (4.2±0.6 days) (P<0.05). In summary, among 10 diets tested, the binary diet Tet+Chaet appeared to support the highest culture productivity of E. acutifrons while the diatom Chaet also performed well as a monoalgal diet.     

Genetic parameters for spawning and growth traits in the Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei)

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for spawning traits and growth traits in a breeding line of Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei, selected for growth and survival. Traits studied were number of eggs (NE) and number of nauplii (NN) and female body weight at insemination (FWI) and body weight at 130 days of age (BW130). Genetic parameters were estimated using a multivariate animal model. Heritability for NE and NN were estimated as 0.13 ± 0.04 and 0.03 ± 0.04 respectively. The contribution to NN total variation due to ‘factors associated with male’ effect was estimated as 0.47 ± 0.07. In the cases of FWI and BW130, heritability was estimated as 0.44 ± 0.08 and 0.19 ± 0.03 respectively. Genetic correlation between FWI and NE was estimated as 0.49 ± 0.15, between FWI and NN as 0.54 ± 0.39 and between NE and NN as 0.27 ± 0.41, whereas the genetic correlations of FWI, NE and NN with BW130 were 0.30 ± 0.13, ?0.21 ± 0.19 and ?0.25 ± 0.38 respectively. Although it is important to perform more studies on this issue, our results found no evidence of a genetic antagonistic effect between female reproductive traits and body weight at harvesting (130 days of age) in P. vannamei.     

低温胁迫条件下中国明对虾生长性状和耐低温性状的遗传参数评估

本研究采用室内人工降温的方式,对69个中国明对虾(Fenneropenaeus chinensis)家系共1327尾成虾进行了耐低温实验,测定其生长和耐低温性状;并利用混合模型方程,通过平均信息约束极大似然法进行遗传力和遗传相关估计。采用2种动物模型对中国明对虾成虾低温下体重、体长的遗传力进行评估,模型1加入了共同环境效应,模型2没有加入共同环境效应。由模型1获得的体重、体长的遗传力分别为(0.206±0.177)、(0.187±0.179),由模型2获得的体重、体长的遗传力分别为(0.317±0.065)、(0.298±0.063),均为中低等遗传力。经似然比检验体重、体长在模型1和模型2间的似然比值均无显著差异(P0.05),表明模型1和模型2之间无显著差异,模型2为较优遗传模型。以半致死时的存活状态作为耐低温性状指标,遗传力为(0.169±0.078),为低等遗传力。低温下体重、体长之间的表型和遗传相关分别为(0.823±0.010)和(0.969±0.018),为高度正相关;低温下体重、体长与半致死时的存活状态的表型相关分别为(0.187±0.030)和(0.218±0.030),为低度正相关;而遗传相关分别为(0.517±0.205)和(0.538±0.203),为中度正相关。本研究表明,对生长性状进行的选育不会降低其耐低温能力,中国明对虾耐低温性状可与生长性状进行共同复合选育。     

Different growth and processing traits in males and females of European catfish,Silurus glanis

Two experiments were developed in France to assess whether growth and processing traits differ for males and females in the European catfish, Silurus glanis. In the first experiment, fish were raised from 5 to 200 g in a pond for 7 months. A significant sex effect is demonstrated in males for live weight at the end of the experiment (males 147.5±5.4 g vs females 132.9±4.9 g) and head index (males 20.6±0.1 % vs females 21.2±0.1 %, P < 0.05). In the second experiment, fish were raised from 885±196 g to 2 266±418 g in a recirculated system at 20.7±1.4 °C for 120 days. A differential growth between the sexes is also registered. Males are heavier and longer (+ 357 g or + 17.0 % and + 6.2 % in length at day 120) and present a higher gutted weight and yield (+ 367 g or + 18.7 %; 95.0±0.9 % vs 93.8±1.8 %) and fillet weight (+ 233 g or + 20.9 %) than females after slaughter.     

Estimating the heritability for growth-related traits in the pearl oyster,Pinctada fucata martensii (Dunker)

Twelve paternal half-sib families (or 36 full-sib families) of the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata martensii (Dunker), were produced according to the requirements of hierarchical genetic mating design. A total of 4320 individuals, aged 15 months, were measured for seven growth-related traits. Predicated upon the additive-dominance genetic analysis model, varying genetic variance components and then heritabilities of the growth-related traits of interest were estimated using analysis of variance. Results showed that seven growth-related traits had larger additive genetic variances (P<0.05); the dominance genetic variance of shell weight (SW) was smaller (P>0.05), the dominance genetic variances of other six traits were all larger (P<0.05). Narrow- and broad-sense heritabilities for the seven traits were, respectively, 0.64 ± 0.10 and 0.78 ± 0.12 for shell length, 0.49 ± 0.06 and 0.63 ± 0.09 for shell height, 0.38 ± 0.14 and 0.54 ± 0.16 for shell breadth, 0.41 ± 0.17 and 0.56 ± 0.11 for hinge length, 0.53 ± 0.11 and 0.68 ± 0.08 for body weight, 0.35 ± 0.07 and 0.55 ± 0.08 for tissue weight and 0.67 ± 0.10 and 0.75 ± 0.16 for SW. All heritability estimates were statistically significant (P<0.05). According to these results, the mass selection procedure is suggested for the breeding of P. martensii.     

Divergent selection for shell length in two stocks of small abalone Haliotis diversicolor

To determine whether genetic improvement can be attained through a selective breeding programme, divergent selection for shell length was applied to two stocks of Haliotis diversicolor. Stock A was descended from the cross between males from a Japanese wild population and females from a Taiwan aquacultured population and Stock B was from the Taiwan cultured population, which had been successively cultured in mainland China for about 10 generations. The 10% largest and 10% smallest abalones for each of these two stocks were selected as parents for the large‐selected and small‐selected lines respectively. Equal numbers of abalone were randomly chosen from the two stocks to serve as parents for the control lines before the selection. The selected and control lines were reared under the same conditions at early juvenile, later juvenile and grow‐out stages. Stock A showed a significantly higher response to selection and realized heritability than Stock B (P<0.01). The large‐selected line of Stock A and Stock B grew 12.79% and 4.58% faster than their control lines on shell length respectively. The average realized heritability for shell length was 0.441±0.064 for Stock A and 0.113±0.013 for Stock B. Responses to selection were different at different ages in each stock and the body weights of the selected lines were significantly different from the control lines in both stocks at the grow‐out stage. Asymmetric responses to selection in the two directions were also observed in both stocks. Differences in response to selection and realized heritability between the two stocks are presumably due to genetic variability.     

俄罗斯鲟早期生长性状遗传参数的估计

采用人工授精技术和家系标准化培育技术构建了30个俄罗斯鲟(Acipenser gueldenstaedtii)父系全同胞家系(包含6个母系半同胞组),培育至150日龄和410日龄时,分别从每个家系中随机测量50尾个体的体长和体重。利用ASReml软件进行方差组分的估计,应用多性状动物模型进行俄罗斯鲟生长性状遗传参数的估计。结果表明,150日龄俄罗斯鲟体长和体重的遗传力分别为0.16±0.055、0.18±0.058,410日龄俄罗斯鲟体长和体重的遗传力分别为0.18±0.070、0.094±0.049,不同日龄生长性状的遗传力均为低遗传力,表明俄罗斯鲟更适合大规模家系的育种方法;150日龄和410日龄俄罗斯鲟体长和体重2个生长性状的表型相关和遗传相关均为高度正相关,其中表型相关系数分别为0.91、0.85,遗传相关系数分别为0.62、0.57,说明对体重或体长进行选育,均能实现改良生长性状的目标;不同日龄俄罗斯鲟家系平均体重的平均变异系数高于平均体长,前者为29.09%、29.46%,后者为10.16%、8.43%,表明俄罗斯鲟体重性状更具选育潜力。本研究估测了俄罗斯鲟不同时期生长性状的遗传参数,旨在为下一步合理制定该物种育种方案提供参考依据。     

Heritability estimates for growth‐related traits in the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) using a molecular pedigree

Pacific oyster is one of the leading species in world aquaculture, but heritability estimation applying mixed‐family approach has not been actively pursued. In this study, heritability for growth‐related traits in the Pacific oyster was first estimated by creating a single cohort of 45 families in a full‐factorial mating design consisting of nine sires and five dams. A total of 270 offspring were analysed and parentage assignment inferred by six microsatellite markers achieved 100% success. All parents contributed to the spawn and a total of 42 full‐sib families were represented. Using an animal model, heritability estimates at 12 months of age were 0.49 ± 0.25 for shell height, 0.36 ± 0.19 for shell length, 0.45 ± 0.23 for shell width and 0.35 ± 0.17 for wet weight. Genetic correlation between shell height and wet weight was quite high (0.79 ± 0.25), suggesting that direct selection of shell height, which is an easily measurable trait, also improves wet weight. The results obtained in this study indicate that growth‐related traits could be improved by exploiting additive genetic effects through selective breeding.     

Genetic parameter estimation of nine quantitative traits by a marker‐based method in Large Yellow Croaker,Larimichthys crocea (Richardson)

Large yellow croaker accounts for the largest biomass production of any maricultured fish in China. However, very little is known about the genetic parameters of its commercially important traits. As an initial step towards developing a selective breeding programme, genetic parameters of nine quantitative traits were estimated using a marker‐based method. Dorsal fin samples were collected to extract genomic DNA, and GBS method was employed to construct the libraries for sequencing. Genetic parameters were estimated by REML method through a genomic relationship matrix (G matrix) constructed by abundant genomewide SNPs. The nine traits were body weight (BWT), body length (BL), body height (BH), length/height ratio (LTH), body width (BWH), eviscerated weight (EW), gonad weight (GW), eviscerated weight/body weight ratio (REB) and swim bladder index (SBI). Estimates of heritability were 0.63 ± 0.11, 0.60 ± 0.11, 0.53 ± 0.11, 0.34 ± 0.11, 0.55 ± 0.11, 0.66 ± 0.11, 0.37 ± 0.10, 0.25 ± 0.08 and 0.71 ± 0.10 for the nine traits respectively. The relatively high heritability values may be derived from calculating the genetic relationship by high‐density SNPs. To illustrate that, we had studied on the variation of the heritability estimates with different number of SNPs evenly sampled from 29748 SNPs. The results showed that the estimates of heritability generally decreased when the number of SNPs reduced. There were relatively high phenotypic and genetic correlations between the pairs of BWT, BL, BH, BWH and EW, which indicated that genetic improvement for these traits could be accomplished merely by selecting one trait. The results obtained in this study may provide a reference for the later selective breeding programme.     

Heritability and genotype by environment interactions for growth and survival in Litopenaeus vannamei at low and high densities

Genetic parameters and genotype by rearing density interactions for growth traits and survival were investigated in Litopenaeus vannamei. A total of 3626 shrimps from 40 families in two densities (low density, 80 shrimps m^?2; high density, 160 shrimps m^?2) were measured for four growth traits, body length, body weight, cephalothorax length and abdominal segment length. Variance components and genetic parameters for growth and survival were estimated using a two‐trait animal model or a threshold (probit) sire and dam model. The common environment effect was excluded because it could not be partitioned effectively, likely because of high heritability. The heritability for growth traits varied from 0.21 to 0.44, indicating a moderate level. For survival, the back‐transformed heritability () was 0.36 ± 0.06 and 0.22 ± 0.04 for the low and high densities respectively. There were no significant differences in heritability for growth traits and survival between the two densities (P > 0.05). High genetic correlations (0.94–0.98) between the two densities for growth traits indicated a low genotype by density interaction and ranking effect across the environments, which suggested that these traits were controlled mostly by the same genes over the two densities. Therefore, selection in a low‐density environment should produce desired correlated responses for growth at a high density. Genetic correlation (0.77 ± 0.09) between the two densities for survival was moderate and significant, which indicated that the genotype by density interaction effect was moderate and low for survival under the two densities. Our results provide crucial information for use in L. vannamei breeding programmes in China.     

Genetic analysis of early growth traits of the triangle shell mussel, Hyriopsis Cumingii, as an insight for potential genetic improvement to pearl quality and yield

Individual Hyriopsis cumingii were collected from Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake, and Taihu Lake, China, from which 17 paternal half-sib families, including 51 full-sib families, were produced using a nested design. After the cage culture of each family with ten replicates for 57?days, 30 individuals were randomly selected from each cage, totaling 15,300. Four growth traits were measured for genetic analysis in each mussel: shell length, shell height, shell thickness, and body weight. The heritability of each trait was 0.49?±?0.37, 0.27?±?0.29, 0.59?±?0.39, and 0.47?±?0.38, respectively. Phenotypic and genetic correlation between these four traits fell within the range of 0.89–0.95 and 0.97–1.00, respectively. Early growth traits of H. cumingii show sufficient genetic diversity for genetic improvement. Both phenotypic and genetic correlation between the four traits are high, and thus, the modification on one target trait may modify the remaining three traits accordingly.