Quantitative genetics and heritability of growth-related traits in hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops ♀ x ♂ Morone saxatilis )

Commercially farmed, hybrid striped bass female white bass (Morone chrysops) crossed with male striped bass (Morone saxatilis) represent a rapidly growing industry in the United States. Expanded production of hybrid striped bass, however, is limited because of uncontrolled variation in performance of fish derived from undomesticated broodstock. A 10 x 10 factorial mating design was employed to examine genetic effects and heritability of growth-related traits based on dam half-sib and sire half-sib families. A total of 881 offspring were raised in a common environment and body weight and length were recorded at three different times post-fertilization; parentage of each fish was inferred from genotypes at 10 nuclear-encoded microsatellites. Dam and sire effects on juvenile growth (weight and length) and growth rate were significant, whereas dam by sire interaction effect was not. The dam and sire components of variance for weight and length (at age) and growth rate were estimated using a Restricted Maximum Likelihood algorithm. Estimates of broad-sense heritability of weight, using a family-mean basis, ranged from 0.67 ± 0.17 to 0.85 ± 0.07 for dams; estimates for sires ranged from 0.43 ± 0.20 to 0.77 ± 0.10. Estimates of broad-sense heritability of growth rate (based on weight), using a family-mean basis, ranged from 0.69 ± 0.12 to 0.82 ± 0.09 for dams and from 0.69 ± 0.13 to 0.81 ± 0.08 for sires. Similar results were obtained with length data. Both genetic and phenotypic correlations between weight and length were close to unity. High genetic (0.98-99) and phenotypic (0.79) correlations between growth rates measured at two time intervals suggested that selection for growth rate at an early life stage could affect growth rate at a later life stage. Estimates of general combining ability (GCA) for growth rates differed significantly among dams and among sires, whereas estimates of specific combining ability (SCA) for each dam x sire combination did not differ significantly from zero. These results suggest that additive-effect genes contributed to the differences in juvenile growth.