Acronym GENSINC
Category
Fisheries
Title GENetic adaptations underlying population Structure IN herring, Clupea harengus Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Arild Folkvord Coordinator email NA
Coordinator institution
UiB - University of Bergen (Norway)
Institutions involved
IMR - Institute of Marine Research (Norway) ,
QUB - Queen's University Belfast (United Kingdom) ,
DTU - Technical University of Denmark (Denmark) ,
UU - Uppsala University (Sweden) ,
Start year 2016 End year 2021 Funding (€) € 872,105 Website https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/projects/genetic-adaptions-underlying-population-structure-in-herring-clup Summary Atlantic herring is an important species in the pelagic fisheries with average annual harvest rates exceeding a million tons in the North-eastern Atlantic. Herring display a remarkable variability in phenotypes, e.g. size-at-age and timing of spawning, but at the same time a low genetic divergence between herring populations. The observed genetic difference between populations has however been suggested to be of adaptive relevance. Recent advances in genomics can now be used to document variability in genes with potentially high adaptive significance. In order to further study the biological significance of the genetic variants underlying ecological adaptation in the Atlantic herring we have established experimental populations by crossing Atlantic herring (adapted to oceanic water) and Baltic herring (adapted to brackish water). Another experimental population consisting of hybrids between spring and autumn spawning herring is planned within this project, allowing in depth studies on the genetic basis of reproduction timing in herring. Multi-generational experiments on such populations are considered essential to understand evolutionary and population genetic responses to environmental change. Genome analyses combined with phenotypic characterization of offspring from these experiments will provide novel basic knowledge about the genetic basis for adaptation to different environmental conditions. Furthermore, a set of carefully selected populations of Atlantic herring will be used for whole genome sequencing to establish a more fundamental understanding of the biology and underlying genetic structure in these herring populations. An overall aim of the project is to establish an improved biological basis for stock identification in herring which will contribute to a more sustainable exploitation of this species.
Keywords
Fish;
Genomic sequencing;
Herring;
Fish reproduction;
Population dynamic;
Genetic;
Fish stocks;
Marine Region
41
Norwegian Sea (27.IIa)
44
Spitzbergen and Bear Island (27.IIb)
2
Marine Region Map
