Recent advances of genome mapping and marker-assisted selection in aquaculture

Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector in agriculture. Substantial genetic gains have been achieved in a few cultured species using conventional selective breeding approaches. However, the majority of fish and shellfish species remain in their wild state. Due to the recognition of the enormous potential of marker-assisted selection (MAS) to speed up genetic gain through early selection, aquaculture scientists have constructed linkage maps in over 40 species and mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for important traits in over 20 species since the 1990s. Although MAS and genomic selection (GS) have not been widely used in aquaculture, their application in breeding programmes is expected to be a fertile area of research. In this paper, I summarized the recent advances of linkage and QTL mapping, as well as MAS in aquaculture species. I also discussed the potentials of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and GS in aquaculture species.