CONTACT: Dr. John Killefer, animal and veterinary sciences304-293-2631, ext.4435 http://www.nis.wvu.edu/releases/fish.htm
Graphics are available for this story.
A West Virginia University researcher is developing a genetic map of the rainbow trout to locate traits that could increase production of the freshwater fish for sport and consumption.
John Killefer is leading a team of WVU scientists who believe the genetic research will lead to faster-growing, disease-resistant trout and make West Virginia a major freshwater fish producer in the eastern United States.
"Our ultimate goal is to be able to identify the genetic makeup of a superior fish,"said Dr. Killefer, an animal and veterinary sciences professor in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences. "We're trying to identify the genes that regulate such traits as reproductive efficiency, muscle growth and disease resistance."
Once researchers have isolated the genes, they will breed fish with the superior traits.
"We're not doing anything that nature doesn't already do," Killefer said. "This is traditional breeding with much faster and more powerful selection tools."
The genetic mapping central to Killefer's research is similar to work being done on the Human Genome Project. Scientists extract DNA from the tissue of the research subject, in this case rainbow trout. They then look for two things: known genes that control such traits as reproduction and growth; and other DNA, microsatellites, located near these and other unknown genes.
Killefer likens the genes to cities along an interstate and the microsatellites to mile markers that identify these cities, or genes. Researchers cross fish with various traits (fast-growing and slow-growing, for example) and study the genetic makeup and growth characteristics of their offspring.
"After we look at enough of these genetic crosses, we can then start to identify which markers are associated with the traits we are interested in," he said. "If we can identify the markers closely associated with the traits, we can then look at the genes that are close to the markers as candidate genes controlling those traits."
Researchers can then start identifying the genetic variations in the offspring, select the superior variants and spawn a line of fish that will reproduce more and grow faster, he added.
The genes of most species are similar, so Killefer has studied data derived from other genetic research, including the Human Genome Project. He has also shared his research findings with other scientists. This ability to share genetic research results is called "comparative genomics."
Killefer, whose educational background is in animal sciences and biochemistry, said he expects to have a functional genetic map developed within a year.
"Our goal is not to have the complete DNA sequence but to develop a useful map," he said. "This project has been under way for just over a year, and we have already about doubled the existing knowledge of the rainbow trout."
The researcher's experiments are part of a larger aquaculture program at WVU and in West Virginia. Aquaculture is the raising of fish and other aquatic life; it is the fastest-growing sector of agriculture in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service started the research project at WVU. The agency, where Killefer worked before coming to the University six years ago, is also building the National Center for Cool and Cold-Water Aquaculture in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
Killefer is confident his research and the Eastern Panhandle center will enhance the state's aquaculture industry.
About 60 percent of seafood consumed in the United States is imported, resulting in one of the nation's top trade deficits, he said. Increasing production of rainbow trout and other cool- and cold-water species could reverse this picture. West Virginia, with so many cold-water springs and streams and its close proximity to 50 percent of the nation's population, is the perfect site for such a venture.
"The eastern seaboard is a large seafood-consuming area," he said. "West Virginia is in a strategically advantageous location to this large population center. The state has quite significant water resources available for trout production. We would like to enhance this industry in the region."
# # #
RSS