Nicolas Dechamp

Detection of QTL with effects on osmoregulation capacities in the rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss )

BackgroundThere is increasing evidence that the ability to adapt to seawater in teleost fish is modulated by genetic factors. Most studies have involved the comparison of species or strains and little is known about the genetic architecture of the trait. To address this question, we searched for QTL affecting osmoregulation capacities after transfer to saline water in a nonmigratory captive-bred population of rainbow trout.ResultsA QTL design (5 full-sib families, about 200 F2 progeny each) was produced from a cross between F0 grand-parents previously selected during two generations for a high or a low cortisol response after a standardized confinement stress. When fish were about 18 months old (near 204 g body weight), individual progeny were submitted to two successive hyper-osmotic challenges (30 ppt salinity) 14 days apart. Plasma chloride and sodium concentrations were recorded 24 h after each transfer. After the second challenge, fish were sacrificed and a gill index (weight of total gill arches corrected for body weight) was recorded. The genome scan was performed with 196 microsatellites and 85 SNP markers. Unitrait and multiple-trait QTL analyses were carried out on the whole dataset (5 families) through interval mapping methods with the QTLMap software. For post-challenge plasma ion concentrations, significant QTL (P < 0.05) were found on six different linkage groups and highly suggestive ones (P < 0.10) on two additional linkage groups. Most QTL affected concentrations of both chloride and sodium during both challenges, but some were specific to either chloride (2 QTL) or sodium (1 QTL) concentrations. Six QTL (4 significant, 2 suggestive) affecting gill index were discovered. Two were specific to the trait, while the others were also identified as QTL for post-challenge ion concentrations. Altogether, allelic effects were consistent for QTL affecting chloride and sodium concentrations but inconsistent for QTL affecting ion concentrations and gill morphology. There was no systematic lineage effect (grand-parental origin of QTL alleles) on the recorded traits.ConclusionsFor the first time, genomic loci associated with effects on major physiological components of osmotic adaptation to seawater in a nonmigratory fish were revealed. The results pave the way for further deciphering of the complex regulatory mechanisms underlying seawater adaptation and genes involved in osmoregulatory physiology in rainbow trout and other euryhaline fishes.

Resistance to a rhabdovirus (VHSV) in rainbow trout: identification of a major QTL related to innate mechanisms.

Health control is a major issue in animal breeding and a better knowledge of the genetic bases of resistance to diseases is needed in farm animals including fish. The detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) will help uncovering the genetic architecture of important traits and understanding the mechanisms involved in resistance to pathogens. We report here the detection of QTL for resistance to Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Virus (VHSV), a major threat for European aquaculture industry. Two induced mitogynogenetic doubled haploid F2 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) families were used. These families combined the genome of susceptible and resistant F0 breeders and contained only fully homozygous individuals. For phenotyping, fish survival after an immersion challenge with the virus was recorded, as well as in vitro virus replication on fin explants. A bidirectional selective genotyping strategy identified seven QTL associated to survival. One of those QTL was significant at the genome-wide level and largely explained both survival and viral replication in fin explants in the different families of the design (up to 65% and 49% of phenotypic variance explained respectively). These results evidence the key role of innate defence in resistance to the virus and pave the way for the identification of the gene(s) responsible for resistance. The identification of a major QTL also opens appealing perspectives for selective breeding of fish with improved resistance.

Lack of correlation between the resistances to two rhabdovirus infections in rainbow trout.

The Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) and the Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV) are two rhabdoviruses responsible for serious outbreaks in salmonid farms. To date, little is known about the variability of host response to these viruses. Using gynogenetic clonal lines of rainbow trout exhibiting a wide range of resistance to viral infections, we showed that there was no correlation between the resistance to VHSV and IHNV. We also confirmed the importance of fish weight for its susceptibility to IHNV infection. Finally, using a chimeric recombinant IHNV expressing the VHSV glycoprotein, we showed that the glycoprotein plays a key role in the virulence and in the level of resistance observed in different genetic backgrounds. Taken together, our results provide new prospects for a better understanding of host responses to rhabdovirus infections in salmonids.