Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We conducted research designed to establish a true breeding hybrid striped bass (HSB) for farming via introgressive hybridization of striped bass males on HSB females. While we were able to carry out this effort to the point where we had produced a second-generation (BC2) backcross and rear them to maturity, the fish were lost to Hurricane Irene in August 2010, which destroyed much of the infrastructure of our NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory, effectively terminating the program of introgressive hybridization. However, our pure lines of striped bass and white bass, which also were reproduced and subjected to selection in this project, survived the hurricane and we redirected our effort toward reproduction and improvement of these fish. In each year of the project, we conditioned females from the the oldest year class of striped bass, which comprises the founder stock for the National Program of Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the HSB Industry (National Breeding Program), and reproduced them at 4 years of age. These were crossed with 3-year-old males from a younger year class, generating scores of half-sibling families of striped bass that were later subjected to intense selection for growth and morphological appearance during subsequent rearing. Also, in each year of the project, we reared underyearling, 1-year-old, 2-year-old and 3-year-old striped bass as future NCSU broodstock and provided hundreds to thousands of these the USDA-ARS Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC) for use in their selection program. Finally, in each year of the project, scores of select adult 4-year-old males were retired from the breeding program and provided to local NC hatcheries for commercial production of HSB. In 2010-2012, these males were crossed with our domesticated line of NCSU white bass (NCSU-WB1) to produce truly domsticated HSB for rearing trials. This development marks the first large-scale adoption of both the domesticated striped bass and white bass lines from the National Breeding program by commercial HSB producers. In each year of the project, we also continued rearing several year classes of NCSU-WB1 as future broodstock for the National Breeding Program. Finally, we completed and published the first genetic map of the striped bass genome, a linkage map based upon 298 microsatellite DNA markers, and we completed and published a database of genes expressed in the striped bass ovary at any stage of development. In all years of the project, results of this work were disseminated to HSB producers and scientists through presentations at the Aquaculture Workshop at the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference, the annual Meeting of the Striped Bass Growers Association, the annual meeting of the US Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society(Aquaculture America), and the NC Aquaculture Development Conference, and through direct contact with North Carolina HSB growers while conducting research or assisting with production activities on their farms. PARTICIPANTS: Craig Sullivan (Principal Investigator,NCSU) managed this project. Brad Ring (Research Specialist), John Davis (Research Specialist), Benjamin Reading (postdoctoral Research Associate), Ozlem Yilmaz (Fulbright Fellow), Amanda Boury (Ph.D. graduate student), Valerie Williams (Ph.D. graduate student), Justin Schilling (Ph.D. graduate student), Scott Salger (ph.D. graduate student), and Katelyn Molloy (undergraduate student) assisted with the field research activities, laboratory analyses, and other work on this project. The staff of the NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL), Andy McGinty (Superintendent), Michael Hopper (Research Technician), and Roger Barber (Research Technician) were responsible the day to day care of fish and assisted with the breeding activities at PAFL. Partner organizations included the Department of Genetics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), NCSU; NCSU CALS Genome Research Laboratory; NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL); North Carolina Sea Grant; USDA/ARS Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC); U.S. Striped Bass Growers Association; National Program for Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry; Carolina Fisheries (Lee H. Brothers, Owner); CastleHayne Fisheries (Steven Locke, President). Collaborators included Charlene Couch, Res. Associate, Department of Genetics, NCSU; Ronald Hodson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, NCSU; Donald Freeman, Director, USDA/ARS SNARC; Adam Fuller, Geneticist, USDA/ARS SNARC; and Matthew McEntire, Fish Biologist Researcher, USDA/ARS SNARC. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for the research include the Striped Bass Growers Association members, especially producers of hybrid striped bass in eastern North Carolina, the U.S. aquaculture community, the scientific community engaged in research on aquaculture species, and graduate an undergraduate students involved in aquaculture research or education. Efforts at reaching these audiences included annual presentations at the Aquaculture Workshop at the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference, the annual Meeting of the Striped Bass Growers Association, the annual meeting of the US Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society (Aquaculture America), and the NC Aquaculture Development Conference, direct contact with North Carolina HSB growers while conducting research or assisting with production activities on their farms, and instruction of a DVM resident, a Fulbright Fellow,a postdoctoral Research Associate, and several graduate and undergraduate students via hands on training during execution of the research and in formal Aquaculture courses taught by C.V. Sullivan at NCSU. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Loss of the BC2 generation of backcross fish during Hurricane Irene in August 2010 caused us to redirect our efforts since then on selective improvement of striped bass and white bass as broodstock for production of hybrid striped bass.
Impacts
We played a critical role as the main laboratory engaged in selective breeding of striped bass and white bass in the National Breeding Program, distributed select lines of both species to USDA-ARS SNARC, which is charged with genetic improvement of hybrid striped bass, and to industry. In this way, government laboratories and commercial HSB hatcheries are immediately benefiting from progress in the National Breeding program. We also disseminated progress in the breeding program to scientists, industry stakeholders, and the general public. Important outcomes of our work includes the production and selection of multiple generations of striped bass and white bass broodfish in the breeding program, continued domestication of both species in captivity, and adoption by two N.C. farms of our domesticated striped bass and white bass for commercial production of HSB. The research animals produced/maintained in this work also provided the basis for the thesis research and/or training for one one DVM aquatic medicine resident, one postdoctoral Research Associate, one Fullbright Fellow, 4 graduate students, and one undergraduate student. Additionally, this research was featured in lectures and field trips given in the graduate classes Aquaculture and Aquaculture Laboratory taught by the PI (C.V. Sullivan) in the even numbered years of this project. The research of the postdoctoral RA, Fulbright Fellow, and graduate students mainly involves biochemical and molecular biological studies of the physiological basis of egg quality, which is a major problem in propagation of striped bass in the National Breeding Program. In the research conducted by the DVM aquatic medicine resident, the previously unknown cause of mass mortality of white bass broodstock during conditioning for breeding in closed, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) was ascertained to be gill infestation with the polyopisthocotylean monogenean trematode, Gamacallum macroura, resulting from use of surface waters. Our subsequent development of methods for chilling well water via aerosol delivery to the flow through rearing systems used earlier in the year than the RAS has eliminated this major case of white bass mortality in the National Breeding Program. Additional outcomes of the research included our completing a medium density linkage map of the striped bass genome and our discovery of scores of microsatellite DNA markers (alleles) linked to growth performance and/or gender. The genome map provides the foundation for future research in which we will develop a draft genome sequence for striped bass and discover thousands of other types of markers (e.g. single nucleotide repeats) with even greater utility in predicting fish performance, which will greatly accelerate gains in the National Breeding Program.
Publications
- Reading,B.J., Chapman, R.W., Schaff, J.E., Scholl, E.H., Opperman, C.H., and Sullivan, C.V. (2012). An ovary transcriptome for all maturational stages of the striped bass (Morone saxatilis), a highly advanced perciform fish. BMC Research Notes 5:111 doi:10.1186/1756-0500-5-111.
- Liu, S., Rexroad III, C.E., Couch, C.R., Cordes, J., Reece, K., and C.V. Sullivan (2012). A microsatellite linkage map of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) reveals conserved synteny with the threespined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Marine Biotechnology 14(2):237-244. doi: 10.1007/s10126-011-9407-2.
- Clarke III, E.O., Harms, C.A., Law, J.M., Flowers, J.R., Williams, V.N., Ring, B.D., Mcginty, A.S., Hopper, M., and Sullivan, C.V. (2012). Clinical and pathological effects of the polyopisthocotylean monogenean, Gamacallum macroura, in white bass. J. Aquatic Animal Health 24(4): 251-257.
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Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We continued research designed to establish a true breeding hybrid striped bass (HSB) for farming via introgressive hybdridization of striped bass on HSB. The second-generation backcross (BC2) was reared to maturity for spawning in spring of 2011. Efforts also were directed at reproducing and improving the pure parental lines (striped bass and white bass). We conditioned the oldest year class of striped bass, the founder stock for the National Program of Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the HSB Industry (National Breeding Program) and reproduced them, generating dozens of half-sibling families of striped bass that were subjected to intense selection for growth and morphological appearance during subsequent rearing. Several thousand select individuals were retained at NCSU as future broodstock and several hundred of these were provided to the USDA-ARS Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC) for use in their selection program. We also continued rearing the four younger year classes of striped bass as future broodstock for the national Breeding program. As in prior years, scores of select adult males were provided to local NC hatcheries for production of HSB, in some cases being crossed with our domesticated line of NCSU white bass (NCSU-WB1) to produce truly domsticated HSB for rearing trials. This development marks the first large-scale adoption of both the domesticated striped bass and white bass lines from the National Breeding program by commercial HSB producers. We continued rearing several year classes of NCSU-WB1 as future broodstock for the National Breeding Program. In August 2010, Hurricane Irene destroyed much of the infrastructure of the NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory including all of the fish life support systems. We were able to save large numbers of all select lines of striped bass and white bass, however, the BC2 generation was lost terminating the program of introgressive hybridization and leading us to redirect our effort toward continued selective improvement of the striped bass and NCSU-WB1. This included our completion of research in which the genome of striped bass was mapped using ~500 microsatellite DNA markers that we previously developed and discovery or specific markers linked to growth performance and gender. As in prior years, results of this work were disseminated to producers and scientists through presentations at the Aquaculture Workshop at the 2010 International Plant and Animal Genome Conference, the annual Meeting of the Striped Bass Growers Association, the annual meeting of the US Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society (Aquaculture America), and the NC Aquaculture Development Conference, and through direct contact with North Carolina HSB growers while conducting research or assisting with production activities on their farms. This research provided the research training and experiences for one postdoctoral research associate, 4 graduate students, and one undergraduate student. Additionally, this research was featured in lectures and field trips given in the graduate classes Aquaculture and Aquaculture Laboratory taught by the PI (C.V. Sullivan) in 2010. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Craig Sullivan (Principal Investigator,NCSU) managed the project. Brad Ring (Research Specialist), John Davis (Research Specialist), Benjamin Reading (postdoctoral Research Associate), Amanda Boury (Ph.D. graduate student), Valerie Williams (Ph.D. graduate student), Justin Schilling (Ph.D. graduate student), Scott Salger (ph.D. graduate student), and Katelyn Molloy (undergraduate student) assisted with the field research activities, laboratory analyses, and other work on this project. The staff of the NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL), Andy McGinty (Superintendent), Michael Hopper (Research Technician), and Roger Barber (Research Technician) were responsible the day to day care of fish and assisted with the breeding activities at PAFL. Partner Organizations: Department of Genetics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), NCSU; NCSU CALS Genome Research Laboratory; NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL); North Carolina Sea Grant; USDA/ARS Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC); U.S. Striped Bass Growers Association; National Program for Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry; Carolina Fisheries (Lee H. Brothers, Owner); CastleHayne Fisheries (Steven Locke, President). Collaborators and contacts: Charlene Couch, Res. Associate, Department of Genetics, NCSU; Ronald Hodson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, NCSU; Donald Freeman, Director, USDA/ARS SNARC; Adam Fuller, Geneticist, USDA/ARS SNARC; Matthew McEntire, Fish Biologist Researcher, USDA/ARS SNARC. Training or professional development: The research outlined in the proposed studies provided the research training and experiences for one DVM aquatic medicine resident, one postdoctoral Research Associate, four doctoral students, and one undergraduate student. TARGET AUDIENCES: As in prior years, this research targeted individuals, including scientists and students, in aquaculture sciences, the general aquaculture industry, and producers of hybrid striped bass nationwide and especially in eastern North Carolina. Results of this work have been disseminated to producers and scientists and students through multiple presentations at international, national and state symposia and conferences dealing with aquaculture issues, direct instruction of DVM aquatic medicine residents, postdoctoral Research Associates, and graduate and undergraduate students in courses taught by C.V. Sullivan at N.C. State University, or via hands on training during execution of the research, and direct contact with hybrid striped bass growers during research conducted, in large part, on their farms. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Loss of the BC2 generation of backcross fish during Hurricane Irene in August 2010 caused us to redirect our efforts since then on selective improvement of striped bass and white bass as broodstock for production of hybrid striped bass.
Impacts
We continued playing our critical role as the main laboratory engaged in selective breeding of striped bass in the National Breeding Program, distribution of select lines of fish to USDA-ARS and to industry, and dissemination of progress in the program to scientists, industry stakeholders, and the general public. Important outcomes of our work during this period include production of a new year class of striped bass, and continued propagation and selection of older year classes of striped bass and white bass for the National Breeding Program. These resources were distributed to the USDA-ARS SNARC, which is charged with genetic improvement of hybrid striped bass, as well as to several commercial HSB producers in the National Breeding Program. In this way, government laboratories and commercial HSB hatcheries are immediately benefiting from progress in the National Breeding program. The research animals produced/maintained in this work also provided the basis for the thesis research and training of 4 doctoral students, one DVM aquatic medicine resident, and one postdoctoral Research Associate as well as one undergraduate student researcher. The research of the graduate students and postdoctoral RA mainly involved biochemical and molecular biological studies of the physiological basis of egg quality, which is a major problem in propagation of striped bass in the National Breeding Program. In the research conducted by the aquatic medicine resident, the previously unknown cause of mass mortality of white bass broodstock during conditioning for breeding in closed, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) was ascertained to be gill infestation with the polyopisthocotylean monogenean trematode, Gamacallum macroura, resulting from use of surface waters. Our subsequent development of methods for chilling well water via aerosol delivery to the flow through rearing systems used earlier in the year than the RAS has eliminated this major case of white bass mortality in the National Breeding Program. Additional outcomes of the research included our completing a medium density linkage map of the striped bass genome and our discovery of scores of microsatellite DNA markers (alleles) linked to growth performance and/or gender. The genome map provides the foundation for future research in which we will develop a draft genome sequence for striped bass and discover thousands of other types of markers (e.g. single nucleotide repeats) with even greater utility in predicting fish performance, which will greatly accelerate gains in the National Breeding Program.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We continued research designed to establish an improved, true breeding hybrid striped bass (HSB) cultivar for farming via introgressive hybdridization of striped bass on HSB. Our second-generation backcross (BC2) produced in spring of 2008 was reared for another year for eventual spawning as adult fish in spring of 2011 to produce the BC3 generation. Our efforts also were directed at reproducing and improving the pure, select, parent lines (striped bass and white bass). In the case of striped bass, we conditioned our 2005 year class of striped bass, the oldest year class of our genetically heterogeneous founder stock for the National Program of Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the HSB Industry (National Breeding Program), for spawning and reproduced these fish to produced scores of half-sibling families of striped bass fry that were pooled in groups for rearing to phase I fingerlings in outdoor ponds, recovered, graded, and culled, reared through through the phase II fingerling stage in flow through tanks, and culled to retain only the largest anatomically perfect individuals. We are currently retaining ~2,140 select 2009 year-class striped bass advanced fingerlings as future broodstock. Also during this period, we continued rearing the 2006, 2007, and 2008 year classes of striped bass as future broodstock, with spawning of 2006 year-class fish planned for 2010. As to white bass, we continued rearing the 2006, 2007 and 2008 year classes of fish as future broodstock with spawning of all year classes anticipated in 2010 to amplify the line and distribute it to growers in N.C. and elsewhere and to the USDA-ARS Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC) and also to conduct experiments on broodstock nutrition. Several hundred of the striped bass 2009 year-class fish and of the white bass 2009 year-class fish were shipped to the USDA-ARS SNARC to safeguard the resource and provide animals for continued selective breeding and experimentation. Results of this work have been disseminated to producers and scientists through presentations at the Aquaculture Workshop at the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference, the annual Meeting of the Striped Bass Growers Association, the annual meeting of the US Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, and the NC Aquaculture Development Conference, and through direct contact with North Carolina HSB growers while conducting research on their farms. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Craig Sullivan (Principal Investigator,NCSU) managed the project. Brad Ring (Research Specialist), John Davis (Research Specialist), Benjamin Reading (Ph.D. graduate student), Amanda Boury (Ph.D. graduate student), Valerie Williams (Ph.D. graduate), Nicole Spooner (M.Sc. student) and Katelyn Molloy (undergraduate student) assisted with the field research activities, laboratory analyses, and other work on this project. The staff of the NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL), Andy McGinty (Superintendent), Michael Hopper (Research Technician), and Roger Barber (Research Technician) were responsible the day to day care of fish and assisted with the breeding activities at PAFL. Partner Organizations: Department of Genetics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), NCSU; NCSU CALS Genome Research Laboratory; NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL); North Carolina Sea Grant; USDA/ARS Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC); U.S. Striped Bass Growers Association; National Program for Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry; Carolina Fisheries (Lee H. Brothers, Owner); CastleHayne Fisheries (Steven Locke, President). Collaborators and contacts: Charlene Couch, Res. Associate, Department of Genetics, NCSU; Ronald Hodson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, NCSU; Donald Freeman, Director, USDA/ARS SNARC; Adam Fuller, Geneticist, USDA/ARS SNARC; Matthew McEntire, Fish Biologist Researcher, USDA/ARS SNARC. Training or professional development: The research outlined in the proposed studies provided the research training and experiences for 3 graduate students, and one undergraduate student. TARGET AUDIENCES: As before, this research targeted individuals, including students, in aquaculture sciences, the general aquaculture industry, and producers of hybrid striped bass nationwide and especially in eastern North Carolina. Results of this work have been disseminated to producers and scientists and students through multiple presentations at international, national and State symposia and conferences dealing with aquaculture issues, direct instruction of graduate and undergraduate students in courses taught by C.V. Sullivan at N.C. State University, hands on training of graduate and undergraduate students during execution of the research, and direct contact with hybrid striped bass growers during research conducted, in large part, on their farms. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
We are the main laboratory engaged in selective breeding of fish in the National Breeding Program and, as such, are tasked with production of each new filial generation of domesticated striped bass, white bass or backcross (BC) hybrid striped bass in the Program. Important outcomes of our work during this period include production of a second year-class of the 8th filial generation of our special line of domesticated white bass (NCSU-WB1), production of a second year-class of the F1 generation of the oldest year class in the genetically heterogeneous founder stock of striped bass in the National Breeding Program, and maintenance of the younger year classes of striped bass and white bass as future broodstock. As noted, these germplasm resources have been distributed to the USDA-ARS SNARC, which is charged with genetic improvement of hybrid striped bass, as well as to several commercial producers in the National Breeding Program. It is upon these resources that all future progress in the National Program will be based. In addition, high performance striped bass culled late from the breeding program, have been made available to private producers as a means for them to improve their hybrid striped bass product as an immediate benefit of the breeding program to the hybrid striped bass farming industry. The research animals produced/maintained in this work also provided the basis for the thesis research and training of 3 graduate students (2 Ph.D.; 1 M.Sc.) and one postdoctoral Research Associate as well as one undergraduate student researcher.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: OUTPUTS: We continued research designed to establish an improved, true breeding hybrid striped bass (HSB) cultivar for farming via introgressive hybdridization of striped bass on HSB. Our initial backcross (reciprocal HSB [white bass X striped bass] X striped bass) generation (BC1; 2005 year class) was reared for an additional year and nutritionally conditioned for spawning of scores of females with males from a selected line of striped bass to produce the 2008 year class BC2 generation. The BC2 fish were reared to phase I fingerlings, harvested, graded, placed on a feeding program to normalize size distributions, and restocked in outdoor ponds and reared to the phase II fingerling stage, at which time the fish were again harvested and 6,000 select individuals were identified and retained as potential future broodstock. Selection involved choosing fish exhibiting superior growth, physical characteristics of F1 generation hybrid striped bass, and no obvious abnormalities. These fish will be retained and conditioned for spawning in 2011. Our efforts also were directed at reproducing and improving the pure, select, parent lines (striped bass and white bass), which we proposed to do in this project. In the case of striped bass, we conditioned our 2004 year class of striped bass, the oldest year class of our genetically heterogeneous founder stock for the National Program of Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the HSB Industry (National Breeding Program), for spawning and reproduced these fish to produced 100 half-sibling families of striped bass fry that were pooled in groups for rearing to phase I fingerlings in outdoor ponds, recovered, graded, and culled, and then reared through to the phase II fingerling stage in flow through tanks. We are currently retaining ~8,500 select 2008 year class striped bass fingerlings, and these will be graded shortly to reduce numbers to the hundreds sufficient for retention as future broodstock. Also during this period, our efforts were directed at utilizing our 7th-generation, domesticated line of white bass (NCSU-WB1) to establish the F8 generation of founder stock for the National Breeding Program and for distribution to industry. In collaboration with several North Carolina HSB producers, we were able to produce several tens of thousands of phase-II, 7th-generation domesticated white bass fry of which ~6,000 advanced phase II fingerlings of the 2008 year class are presently being held at NCSU and distributed as future broodstock to our partners in the National Breeding Program and to our industry collaborators in this research. Results of this work have been disseminated to producers and scientists through presentations at the Annual Workshop on Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry, the annual Meeting of the Striped Bass Growers Association, the annual meeting of the US Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, and the NC Aquaculture Development Conference, and through direct contact with North Carolina HSB growers while conducting research on their farms. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Craig Sullivan (Principal Investigator,NCSU) managed the project. Brad Ring (Research Specialist), John Davis (Research Specialist), Benjamin Reading (Ph.D. graduate student), Amanda Boury (Ph.D. graduate student), Valerie Williams (Ph.D. graduate), and Katelyn Molloy (undergraduate student) assisted with the field research activities, laboratory analyses, and other work on this project. The staff of the NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL), Andy McGinty (Superintendent), Michael Hopper (Research Technician), and Roger Barber (Research Technician) were responsible the day to day care of fish and assisted with the breeding activities at PAFL. Partner Organizations: Department of Genetics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), NCSU; NCSU CALS Genome Research Laboratory; NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL); North Carolina Sea Grant; USDA/ARS Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC); U.S. Striped Bass Growers Association; National Program for Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry; Carolina Fisheries (Lee H. Brothers, Owner); CastleHayne Fisheries (Steven Locke, President). Collaborators and contacts: Charlene Couch, Res. Associate, Department of Genetics, NCSU; Ronald Hodson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, NCSU; Donald Freeman, Director, USDA/ARS SNARC; Adam Fuller, Geneticist, USDA/ARS SNARC; Matthew McEntire, Fish Biologist Researcher, USDA/ARS SNARC. Training or professional development: The research outlined in the proposed studies provided the research training and experiences for 3 graduate students, and one undergraduate student. TARGET AUDIENCES: As before, this research targeted individuals, including students, in aquaculture sciences, the general aquaculture industry, and producers of hybrid striped bass nationwide and especially in eastern North Carolina. Results of this work have been disseminated to producers and scientists and students through multiple presentations at international, national and State symposia and conferences dealing with aquaculture issues, direct instruction of graduate and undergraduate students in courses taught by C.V. Sullivan at N.C. State University (in 2008, ZO 586/587 Aquaculture with Laboratory), hands on training of graduate and undergraduate students during execution of the research, and direct contact with hybrid striped bass growers during research conducted, in large part, on their farms. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
We are the main laboratory engaged in selective breeding of fish in the National Program of Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry (National Breeding Program and, as such, are tasked with production of each new filial generation of domesticated striped bass, white bass or backcross (BC) hybrid striped bass in the National Breeding Program. Important outcomes of our work during this period include production of the 8th filial generation of our special line of domesticated white bass (NCSU-WB1), production of the F1 generation of the oldest year class in the genetically heterogeneous founder stock of striped bass in the National Breeding Program, and production of the BC2 backcross generation in the introgressive hybridization part of the Program. These germplasm resources have been distributed to the USDA-ARS Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center, which is charged with genetic improvement of hybrid striped bass, as well as to several commercial producers in the National Breeding Program. It is upon these resources that all future progress in the National Program will be based. In addition, high performance striped bass culled late from the breeding program, have been made available to private producers as a means for them to improve their hybrid striped bass product as an immediate benefit of the breeding program. for the hybrid striped bass industry
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We conducted research, as proposed, that is designed to establish an improved, true breeding hybrid striped bass (HSB) cultivar for farming via introgressive hybdridization of striped bass on HSB. Physical outputs of this project during this reporting period include: 1) several hundred, select, 3-year-old first generation backcross HSB (reciprocal HSB [white bass X striped bass] X striped bass; BC1; 2005 year class) that are the base broodstock for our program of introgressive hybridization; 2) a genetically variable (~30 half-sib families drawn from >8 distinct lines) fourth year class of Phase II striped bass fingerlings (N~3,000), which completes our development of the striped bass founder stock (four year classes of genetically heterogeneous fish) for the National Program of Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the HSB Industry (National Breeding Program); and 3) tens of thousands of phase-II, 7th-generation domesticated white bass fingerlings (produced from a
line testing free of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, VHS) of the 2007 year class that are presently being distributed as future broodstock to our partners in the National Breeding Program and to our industry collaborators in this research. Results of this work have been disseminated to producers and scientists through presentations at the Annual Workshop on Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry, the annual Meeting of the Striped Bass Growers Association, the triennial meeting of the World Aquaculture Society, and the North Carolina Aquaculture Development Conference, and through direct contact with North Carolina HSB growers while conducting research on their farms (Carolina Fisheries, CastleHayne Fisheries, Pungo Fisheries, Austin Brothers Fisheries, Artesian Aquafarms, Warner's Fisheries).
PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Craig Sullivan (Principal Investigator,NCSU) managed the project. Brad Ring (Research Specialist), Rober Clark (Research Specialist), Benjamin Reading (Ph.D. graduate student), Sandra Page (Ph.D. graduate Student), Amanda Boury (M.Sc. graduate student), Valerie Williams (undergraduate student), and Cherie Gothreau (undergraduate student) assisted with the field research activities, laboratory analyses, and other work on this project. The staff of the NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL), Andy McGinty (Superintendent), Michael Hopper (Research Technician), and Bert Simons (Research Technician) were responsible the day to day care of fish and assisted with the breeding activities at PAFL. Partner Organizations: Department of Genetics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), NCSU NCSU CALS Genome Research Laboratory NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory (PAFL) North Carolina Sea Grant University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Aquaculture/Fisheries Center of Excellence Diagnostic Laboratory (UA-A/F DL) USDA/ARS National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture (NCCCWA) USDA/ARS Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center (SNARC) U.S. Striped Bass Growers Association National Program for Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the Hybrid Striped Bass Industry Artesian Aquafarms (Gary Sawyer, Owner) Austin Brothers Fisheries (Scott Austin, Owner) Carolina Fisheries (Lee H. Brothers, Owner) CastleHayne Fisheries (Steven Locke, President) Pungo Fisheries (George Sugg, Manager) Warner's Aquafarms (Tim Warner, Owner) Collaborators and contacts: Charlene Couch, Res. Associate, Department of Genetics, NCSU Andrew McGinty, Superintendent, NCSU-PAFL Ronald Hodson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Zoology, NCSU Amber Garber, Res. Associate, Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St, Andrews, NB, Canada Andrew Goodwin, Associate Director, UA-A/F DL Donald Freeman, Director, USDA/ARS SNARC Adam
Fuller, Geneticist, USDA/ARS SNARC Matthew McEntire, Fish Biologist Researcher, USDA/ARS SNARC Caird Rexroad, Acting Research Leader, USDA/ARS NCCCWA Training or professional development: The research outlined in the proposed studies provided the research training and experiences for 3 graduate students, and two undergraduate students. In addition, Adam Fuller and Matthew McEntire from the USDA/ARS SNARC visited the NCSU-PAFL in Spring 2007 and were trained by us in methods for hatchery propagation of striped bass and white bass. They, in turn, trained us in methods for sampling fish tissues for viral analyses, which was essential to the success of our efforts to obtain preliminary verification that the NCSU line of domesticated white bass is VHS-free.
TARGET AUDIENCES: This research targeted individuals, including students, in aquaculture sciences, the general aquaculture industry, and producers of hybrid striped bass nationwide and especially in eastern North Carolina. Results of this work have been disseminated to producers and scientists and students through multiple presentations at international, national and State symposia and conferences dealing with aquaculture issues, direct instruction of graduate and undergraduate students in courses taught by C.V. Sullivan at N.C. State University (ZO 586/587 Aquaculture with Laboratory; ZO 515 Fish Physiology), hands on training of graduate and undergraduate students during execution of the research, and direct contact with hybrid striped bass growers during research conducted, in large part, on their farms.
PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Delay of producing the BC2 generation until Spring 2008, as decribed above. OTherwise, no changes.
Impacts
Our initial backcross (reciprocal HSB [white bass X striped bass] X striped bass) generation (BC1; 2005 year class) was reared for two years to maturity and nutritionally conditioned for spawning of the females with males from a selected line (2E55) of striped bass to produce the BC2 generation, as proposed. However, the winter of 2006/2007 was the warmest on record in recorded history at our NCSU Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory and water temperatures were not sustained at low levels for a long enough period to promote proper oocyte development in the BC1 females or in females of our select lines of striped bass. Although a large spawning trial (50 BC1 females with multiple striped bass males per female) was conducted early in the spawning season to produce BC2 fish, egg fertility and embryo viability were low and too few BC2 generation fry were produced for extensive production of fingerlings in outdoor ponds. Consequently, the remaining BC1 females were withheld
from spawning until Spring 2008, when the BC2 generation will be produced, and our efforts were directed at reproducing and improving the pure, select, parent lines (striped bass and white bass), which we also proposed to do in this project. In the case of striped bass, in spite of the low fertility and embryo viability we were able to produce a small albeit highly genetically variable (~30 half-sib families drawn from >8 distinct lines of striped bass) fourth year class of this species. This completes our development of the founder stock (four year classes of genetically heterogeneous fish) for the National Program of Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the HSB Industry (National Breeding Program), which is coordinated by the project PI. As to white bass, our efforts were directed at utilizing our 6th-generation, domesticated line of white bass, which can reproductively tolerate relatively high winter water temperatures, to establish a large founder stock for the National
Breeding Program and for distribution to industry. The emphasis on white bass was justified by the fact that, due to an outbreak of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) in the Great Lakes this area was closed to collections of wild white bass females for spawning to produce HSB. The VHS crisis is a severe one for HSB producers as the Great Lakes had historically provided almost all of the white bass broodstock for hatchery production of HSB. In collaboration with several North Carolina HSB producers, we were able to produce several tens of thousands of phase-II, 7th-generation domesticated white bass fingerlings of the 2007 year class that are presently being distributed as future broodstock to our partners in the National Breeding Program and to our industry collaborators in this research. Several score of individuals from the 2006 year class of juveniles (also 7th generation domesticated) produced from the same parents tested negative for VHS using standard protocols.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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