Method for identifying fast - growing fish

Abstract

Methods of selecting fish for breeding and optimum growth in conditions of various salinity are disclosed. Fish are selected for growth in specific salinity based on their prolactin 1 genotype. A simple sequence repeat polymorphism (microsatellite) in the tilapia prolactin (prl 1) promoter is associated with differences in prl 1 expression and differences in growth in “salt-challenged” or “salt-effected” fishes. This discovery suggests that dinucleotide microsatellites may represent an under-appreciated source of genetic variation for regulatory evolution, and belie the textbook interpretation that non-coding microsatellite length variation lacks functional consequences. Thus, the methods of the invention include determining or selecting the salinity of the environment in which the fish will be grown; determining the prolactin genotype of at least one male and at least one female fish being considered for breeding; breeding male and female fish having the desired genotype(s) to result in offspring having known, predictable genotypes; and raising the fish in a salinity environment compatible with the fishes' genotype(s).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.