Genetics and Genomics of Aquatic Species

A genome is an organism's complete collection of all functional and non-functional DNA sequences, and it can reveal what makes a species distinctive in aquaculture and/or fisheries. Fisheries genomics is a new area that uses genomes to answer problems about fisheries management. Capture fisheries and aquaculture provide about 15% of animal proteins consumed by humans, making them critical to alleviating poverty and attaining sustainable development by 2030, as put forth by the United Nations. Rapid advances in genomics and quantitative analytical approaches, in particular, have led to breeders using genetic marker technologies to aid animal selection in the form of marker-assisted selection (MAS). Aquaculture genomics analyses the genetic basis of performance and production traits and applies this knowledge to breeding programs. Across aquaculture species, the extent to which genome-enabled technologies and genomic information have been or can be employed in genetic improvement initiatives differs. Only with more advanced genomic-based methodologies, where it is now possible to properly forecast genome-wide molecular breeding values for superior animal selection, can these qualities be genetically improved. This method, known as genomic selection, has found widespread use in the aquaculture breeding communities. Decisions on breeding candidates are made using genomic breeding values predicted from genome-wide loci method.

• Genome
• Transcriptome
• Proteome
• Epigenome
• Systems biology