Genomic selection for improved resistance to Amoebic Gill Disease in farmed Atlantic salmon

Salmon are a source of high-quality protein and long chain fatty acids for human nutrition and health. Salmon farming is economically important in the UK and a large source of employment in rural and coastal communities. Outbreaks of Amoebic gill disease (AGD) can cause widespread illness and losses to salmon farms. As such, this disease is one of the most serious threats to UK salmon farming and has a negative effect on salmon health and welfare . Our previous work funded by the Technology Strategy Board has led to the development of a chip containing hundreds of thousands of genetic markers for Atlantic salmon. This chip allowed us to predict how resistant a salmon is to sea lice from a sample of its DNA. In this project, we aim to apply this chip and knowledge to improve the resistance of farmed salmon stocks to AGD . By performing a controlled AGD challenge experiment and utilising measures of gill damage collected in the farm environment, we aim to identify and verify accurate measures of resistance. The data collected will be combined with genetic marker data to identify and select more resistant fish and thus help tackle the disease problem.