Control and Evolution of Seawater Adaptation in Oncorhynchus Mykiss

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators

Abstract

The NSF grant "Control and evolution of seawater adaptation in Oncorhynchus mykiss" will seek to determine genetic factors that differ between non-migratory forms of rainbow trout and sea-run forms known as steelhead. These two forms are present in natural populations along the Pacific coast of North America but the genetic basis of the differences between them are poorly understood. The differences will be studied by making crosses between genetically uniform lines of steelhead and non-migratory rainbow trout that have been developed at Washington State University, generating offspring from the hybrid between the two types, and examining the inheritance of both steelhead-like characteristics and DNA markers in the offspring. The PIs will try to estimate how many genes and which specific genes are different between steelhead and rainbow trout. This study will increase knowledge of how trout and salmon populations adapt to their specific environments. Understanding the differences between steelhead and rainbow trout could be helpful in conservation programs by allowing more accurate identification of the groups, some of which are considered endangered or threatened. In addition, efforts to farm rainbow trout and steelhead could benefit by making it easier to breed the trait of seawater adaptation into fast-growing rainbow trout strains.