Plant & Animal Genomes XV Conference

January 13-17, 2007
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Determination Of Microsatellite Markers Associated With Disease Resistance In Channel Catfish

Attila Karsi¹ , Levent Turkmut² , Geoffrey C Waldbieser³ , William R Wolters⁴

¹  College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS 39762-6100

²  Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA

³  USDA, ARS Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA

⁴  USDA, ARS National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center, Orono ME 04469-5717

Enteric septicemia of catfish caused by Edwardsiella ictaluri is a devastating disease that causes severe losses in catfish farming. Production of resistant catfish lines using marker assisted selection can be an effective approach to cope with the adverse effects of disease outbreaks. However, disease resistance-associated markers are currently not available for catfish. Therefore, we used the candidate gene approach to identify markers associated with disease resistance in catfish. To accomplish this, twenty eight microsatellite markers located in or near immune relevant genes were developed and selective genotyping of individuals from resistant and susceptible families was conducted. Associations were determined using allele substitution model. Our analyses indicated significant association of four markers with disease resistance or susceptibility in catfish. M06 and M15 were associated with the resistance phenotype while M16 and M21 were associated with the susceptible phenotype. These markers were already placed in the catfish linkage map, which will allow further characterization of quantitative trait loci effecting disease resistance, and they should be useful for initiation of marker assisted selection programs in catfish.