Long-term sustainability of any farmed animals or plants depends on use of genetically selected broodstock for production of well-adapted offspring or seed. Our proposed project aims to develop genomic breeding tools through transcriptome analysis by RNAseq, a technology emerging in 2009 and being applied for fish and shellfish in recent years, and combining with traditional breeding strategies to advance the hard clam aquaculture industry in the eastern U.S. This project is being developed in coordination with the Florida hard clam industry, and will be performed in collaboration with clam aquaculture farmers. It is anticipated that this project can serve as an initial action to achieve our long-term goal, which is production of superior broodstock for high quality seed production, to sustain the hard clam industry and increase the resiliency of shellfish aquaculture systems.
Less...