Plant & Animal Genomes XI Conference Plant & Animal Genomes XI ConferenceJanuary 11-15, 2003
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Workshop: Aquaculture
GRASP, the Genomics Research on Atlantic Salmon Project funded by Genome BC, is designed to provide the foundation for understanding the genome of Atlantic salmon. However, it should be noted that genomic information gained from Atlantic salmon will be applicable to other salmonid species, particularly rainbow trout. The specific aims of GRASP are: (1) to tie together the linkage map based primarily on microsatellite markers with the physical map based on BAC contigs and to position these on the chromosomes; (2) to locate genes of known function on the physical map and to compare specific regions of the duplicated genome to learn how it becomes reorganized and controls sex-determination; (3) to examine gene regulation at both the transcriptional and the translational level in several tissues under different conditions including the presence and absence of pathogens. More than 100 cDNAS libraries have been constructed and approximately 70,000 3' sequences (ESTs) have been read. These correspond to about 20,000 clusters or independent gene products. Comparison of these clusters with similar ESTs from rainbow trout and other salmonids will provide information on the timing of the genome duplication event and rates and modes of subsequent gene evolution. The ESTs have also been used to construct a microarray with over 2,500 sequences represented including about 500 from rainbow trout cDNA libraries to determine the extent of cross-hybridization and the value of the chip for general salmonid use. A BAC library has been prepared and 313,000 clones with an average insert size >180,000 base pairs have been selected for Hind III fingerprinting and contig construction. This represents a 15 fold coverage of the Atlantic salmon genome. This presentation will provide an update on the status of this project and indicate how partnerships can be formed to take advantage of this resource.