title: Genetic mapping and QTL analysis of growth-related traits in the Pacific oyster.
abstract: The Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) is one of the most important oysters cultured worldwide. To analyze the oyster genome and dissect growth-related traits, we constructed a sex-averaged linkage map by combining 64 genomic simple sequence repeats, 42 expressed sequence tag-derived SSRs, and 320 amplified fragment length polymorphism markers in an F(1) full-sib family. A total of 426 markers were assigned to 11 linkage groups, spanning 558.2 cM with an average interval of 1.3 cM and 94.7% of genome coverage. Segregation distortion was significant for 18.8% of the markers (P < 0.05), and distorted markers tended to occur on some genetic regions or linkage groups. Most growth-related quantitative traits were highly significantly (P < 0.01) correlated, and principal component analysis obtained four principal components. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis identified three significant QTLs for two principal components, which explained 0.6-13.9% of the phenotypic variation. One QTL for sex was detected on linkage group 6, and the inheritabilities of sex for parental alleles and maternal alleles on that locus C15 are 39.8% and 0.01%, respectively. The constructed linkage map and determined QTLs can provide a tool for further genetic analysis of the traits and be potential for marker-assisted selection in C. gigas breeding.
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qing Z
authors.initials: QZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ling F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Kong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D049896:Crassostrea / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D010641:Phenotype; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*; D012737:Sex Factors