Selective breeding of
quantitative traits in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio): a review
M. Vandeputte-2003
Aquatic Living Resources, 16(5): 399-407
Abstract:
The common carp is one of the main aquaculture
species in the world. Despite this, most of the production is carried out
using unselected strains. Selective breeding for fast growth has not proven
to be effective in this species, but other traits (disease resistance,
shape) could be successfully selected for. Most heritability estimates in
the literature are unreliable due to environmental biases, but complementary
results from population genetics and comparison of strains seem to indicate
that there should be a potential for selective breeding in this species,
including selection for growth rate, provided the base populations are
variable enough (e.g. synthetic strains). New techniques such as parentage
assignment with microsatellites and use of doubled haploid progenies may
help describe much more accurately, without environmental bias, the genetic
determination of traits of interest in the carp. This could be a new
opportunity to design efficient breeding programs in this important species
(INRA, Laboratoire de génétique des poissons (Fish
genetics Laboratory), Domaine de Vilvert, 78352, Jouy-en-Josas cedex,
France, e-mail: mvande@jouy.inra.fr)