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Mobley KB, Barton HJ, Ellmén M, Ruokolainen A, Guttorm O, Pieski H, Orell P, Erkinaro J, Primmer CR. Sex-specific overdominance at the maturation vgll3 gene for reproductive fitness in wild Atlantic salmon. Mol Ecol 2024:e17435. [PMID: 38877757 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Linking reproductive fitness with adaptive traits at the genomic level can shed light on the mechanisms that produce and maintain sex-specific selection. Here, we construct a multigenerational pedigree to investigate sex-specific selection on a maturation gene, vgll3, in a wild Atlantic salmon population. The vgll3 locus is responsible for ~40% of the variation in maturation (sea age at first reproduction). Genetic parentage analysis was conducted on 18,265 juveniles (parr) and 685 adults collected at the same spawning ground over eight consecutive years. A high proportion of females (26%) were iteroparous and reproduced two to four times in their lifetime. A smaller proportion of males (9%) spawned at least twice in their lifetime. Sex-specific patterns of reproductive fitness were related to vgll3 genotype. Females showed a pattern of overdominance where vgll3*EL genotypes had three-fold more total offspring than homozygous females. In contrast, males demonstrated that late-maturing vgll3*LL individuals had two-fold more offspring than either vgll3*EE or vgll3*EL males. Taken together, these data suggest that balancing selection in females contributes to the maintenance of variation at this locus via increased fitness of iteroparous vgll3*EL females. This study demonstrates the utility of multigenerational pedigrees for uncovering complex patterns of reproduction, sex-specific selection and the maintenance of genetic variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenyon B Mobley
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Genetics, Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Henry J Barton
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mikko Ellmén
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Annukka Ruokolainen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Olavi Guttorm
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hans Pieski
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Panu Orell
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Oulu, Finland
| | | | - Craig R Primmer
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute for Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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2
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Brown MS, Carvalheiro R, Taylor RS, Mekkawy W, Luke TDW, Rands L, Nieuwesteeg D, Evans BS, Wade NM, Lind CE, Hilder PE. Probabilistic reaction norm reveals family-related variation in the association between size, condition, and sexual maturation onset in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2024; 104:939-949. [PMID: 37996984 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between the size, condition, year class, family, and sexual maturity of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) using data collected in an aquaculture selective breeding programme. Males that were sexually mature at 2 years of age (maiden spawn) have, on average, greater fork length and condition factor (K) at 1 year of age than their immature counterparts. For every 10-mm increase in fork length or 0.1 increase in K at 1 year of age, the odds of sexual maturity at 2 years of age increased by 1.48 or 1.22 times, respectively. Females that were sexually mature at 3 years of age (maiden spawn) have, on average, greater fork length and K at 2 years of age than their immature counterparts. For every 10-mm increase in fork length or 0.1 increase in K at 2 years of age, the odds of sexual maturity at 3 years of age increased by 1.06 or 1.44 times, respectively. The family explained 34.93% of the variation in sexual maturity among 2-year-old males that was not attributable to the average effects of fork length and K at 1 year of age and year class. The proportion of variation in sexual maturity among 3-year-old females explained by the family could not be investigated. These findings suggest that the onset of sexual maturation in Atlantic salmon is conditional on performance (with respect to energy availability) surpassing a threshold, the magnitude of which can vary between families and is determined by a genetic component. This could support the application of genetic selection to promote or inhibit the onset of sexual maturation in farmed stocks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Wagdy Mekkawy
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | | | - Lewis Rands
- Salmon Enterprises of Tasmania Pty. Ltd., Wayatinah, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Damien Nieuwesteeg
- Salmon Enterprises of Tasmania Pty. Ltd., Wayatinah, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Brad S Evans
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Nicholas M Wade
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Curtis E Lind
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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Ahi EP, Verta JP, Kurko J, Ruokolainen A, Singh P, Debes PV, Erkinaro J, Primmer CR. Gene co-expression patterns in Atlantic salmon adipose tissue provide a molecular link among seasonal changes, energy balance and age at maturity. Mol Ecol 2024:e17313. [PMID: 38429895 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Sexual maturation in many fishes requires a major physiological change that involves a rapid transition between energy storage and usage. In Atlantic salmon, this transition for the initiation of maturation is tightly controlled by seasonality and requires a high-energy status. Lipid metabolism is at the heart of this transition since lipids are the main energy storing molecules. The balance between lipogenesis (lipid accumulation) and lipolysis (lipid use) determines energy status transitions. A genomic region containing a transcription co-factor of the Hippo pathway, vgll3, is the main determinant of maturation timing in Atlantic salmon. Interestingly, vgll3 acts as an inhibitor of adipogenesis in mice and its genotypes are potentially associated with seasonal heterochrony in lipid storage and usage in juvenile Atlantic salmon. Here, we explored changes in expression of more than 300 genes directly involved in the processes of adipogenesis, lipogenesis and lipolysis, as well as the Hippo pathway in the adipose tissue of immature and mature Atlantic salmon with distinct vgll3 genotypes. We found molecular evidence consistent with a scenario in which immature males with different vgll3 genotypes exhibit contrasting seasonal dynamics in their lipid profiles. We also identified components of the Hippo signalling pathway as potential major drivers of vgll3 genotype-specific differences in adipose tissue gene expression. This study demonstrates the importance of adipose gene expression patterns for directly linking environmental changes with energy balance and age at maturity through genetic factors bridging lipid metabolism, seasonality and sexual maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Pashay Ahi
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jukka-Pekka Verta
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Johanna Kurko
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Annukka Ruokolainen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pooja Singh
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Center for Ecology, Evolution & Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Paul Vincent Debes
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, Hólar University, Sauoarkrokur, Iceland
| | | | - Craig R Primmer
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Prokkola JM, Chew KK, Anttila K, Maamela KS, Yildiz A, Åsheim ER, Primmer CR, Aykanat T. Tissue-specific metabolic enzyme levels covary with whole-animal metabolic rates and life-history loci via epistatic effects. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220482. [PMID: 38186275 PMCID: PMC10772610 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Metabolic rates, including standard (SMR) and maximum (MMR) metabolic rate have often been linked with life-history strategies. Variation in context- and tissue-level metabolism underlying SMR and MMR may thus provide a physiological basis for life-history variation. This raises a hypothesis that tissue-specific metabolism covaries with whole-animal metabolic rates and is genetically linked to life history. In Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), variation in two loci, vgll3 and six6, affects life history via age-at-maturity as well as MMR. Here, using individuals with known SMR and MMR with different vgll3 and six6 genotype combinations, we measured proxies of mitochondrial density and anaerobic metabolism, i.e. maximal activities of the mitochondrial citrate synthase (CS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymes, in four tissues (heart, intestine, liver, white muscle) across low- and high-food regimes. We found enzymatic activities were related to metabolic rates, mainly SMR, in the intestine and heart. Individual loci were not associated with the enzymatic activities, but we found epistatic effects and genotype-by-environment interactions in CS activity in the heart and epistasis in LDH activity in the intestine. These effects suggest that mitochondrial density and anaerobic capacity in the heart and intestine may partly mediate variation in metabolic rates and life history via age-at-maturity. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolutionary significance of variation in metabolic rates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenni M. Prokkola
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Paavo Havaksen tie 3, 90570 Oulu, Finland
- Lammi Biological Station, University of Helsinki, Pääjärventie 320, 16900 Lammi, Finland
| | - Kuan Kiat Chew
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Katja Anttila
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Katja S. Maamela
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Lammi Biological Station, University of Helsinki, Pääjärventie 320, 16900 Lammi, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Atakan Yildiz
- Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Ankara 06135, Turkey
| | - Eirik R. Åsheim
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Lammi Biological Station, University of Helsinki, Pääjärventie 320, 16900 Lammi, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Craig R. Primmer
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tutku Aykanat
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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Raunsgard A, Persson L, Czorlich Y, Ugedal O, Thorstad EB, Karlsson S, Fiske P, Bolstad GH. Variation in phenotypic plasticity across age-at-maturity genotypes in wild Atlantic salmon. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17229. [PMID: 38063470 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Evolution of phenotypic plasticity requires genotype-environment interaction. The discovery of two large-effect loci in the vgll3 and six6 genomic regions associated with the number of years the Atlantic salmon spend feeding at sea before maturation (sea age), provides a unique opportunity to study evolutionary potential of phenotypic plasticity. Using data on 1246 Atlantic salmon caught in the River Surna in Norway, we show that variation in mean sea age among years (smolt cohorts 2013-2018) is influenced by genotype frequencies as well as interaction effects between genotype and year. Genotype-year interactions suggest that genotypes may differ in their response to environmental variation across years, implying genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity. Our results also imply that plasticity in sea age will evolve as an indirect response to selection on mean sea age due to a shared genetic basis. Furthermore, we demonstrate differences between years in the additive and dominance functional genetic effects of vgll3 and six6 on sea age, suggesting that evolutionary responses will vary across environments. Considering the importance of age at maturity for survival and reproduction, genotype-environment interactions likely play an important role in local adaptation and population demography in Atlantic salmon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Raunsgard
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lo Persson
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Yann Czorlich
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ola Ugedal
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Eva B Thorstad
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sten Karlsson
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Peder Fiske
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Geir H Bolstad
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
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