title: A genetic linkage map of the hermaphrodite teleost fish Sparus aurata L.
abstract: The gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) is a marine fish of great importance for fisheries and aquaculture. It has also a peculiar sex-determination system, being a protandrous hermaphrodite. Here we report the construction of a first-generation genetic linkage map for S. aurata, based on 204 microsatellite markers. Twenty-six linkage groups (LG) were found. The total map length was 1241.9 cM. The ratio between sex-specific map lengths was 1:1.2 (male:female). Comparison with a preliminary radiation hybrid (RH) map reveals a good concordance, as all markers located in a single LG are located in a single RH group, except for Ad-25 and CId-31. Comparison with the Tetraodon nigroviridis genome revealed a considerable number of evolutionary conserved regions (ECRs) between the two species. The mean size of ECRs was 182 bp (sequence identity 60-90%). Forty-one ECRs have a known chromosomal location in the pufferfish genome. Despite the limited number of anchoring points, significant syntenic relationships were found. The linkage map presented here provides a robust comparative framework for QTL analysis in S. aurata and is a step toward the identification of genetic loci involved both in the determination of economically important traits and in the individual timing of sex reversal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Rafaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Franch
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Louro
authors.forename: Matina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsalavouta
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chatziplis
authors.forename: Costas S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Tsigenopoulos
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarropoulou
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Antonello
authors.forename: Andonis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Magoulas
authors.forename: Constantinos C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Mylonas
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babbucci
authors.forename: Tomaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Patarnello
authors.forename: Deborah M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Power
authors.forename: Giorgos
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kotoulas
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bargelloni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D005819:Genetic Markers; D057850:Hermaphroditic Organisms; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D021541:Sea Bream / Q000235:genetics*; D019849:Sex Determination Processes / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers