AquaGen has identified two genetic markers (QTLs) with significant correlation to flavobacteriosis resistance that will be used in rainbow trout egg production.

Flavobacteriosis, also known as Rainbow Trout Fry Syndrome (RTFS) is a major problem in rainbow trout production world-wide. 

The identified gene markers for disease resistance will be used in Norway, UK and Chile from early 2017.

Andrew Reeve, sales manager UK/Ireland, said: “The new product for significantly increased resistance to RTFS will deliver value by reducing the economic impact for the farmer and will improve fish welfare throughout the production cycle.”

AquaGen has implemented a genomic tool that uses thousands of markers to select for disease resistance in rainbow trout. 

In collaboration with Affymetrix and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a high-density SNP-chip capable of genotyping 55,000 SNP markers from one individual fish in one analysis has been developed. 

A QTL search resulted in the discovery of two major QTLs for resistance to flavobacteriosis. 

Both alone and in combination, the two QTLs have a significant effect in reducing mortality from flavobacteriosis in rainbow trout.  The survival among fish with the worst and the best combination of markers was 31% and 84%, respectively. 

Thomas Moen, research director at AquaGen, concluded: “The frequency of the beneficial markers is low to moderate in AquaGen stock, which means there is huge potential for improving resistance.”