Analysis of crosses between three strains of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) in Viet Nam

Abstract

This study focused on harvest body weight of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) in a selective breeding program in Vietnam. The first objective was to estimate additive, non-additive genetic effects and heritability two sets of data, namely (i) Whole population and (ii) Selection group. The second objective was to estimate selection responses by comparing estimated breeding values (EBVs) between Selection group and three other groups namely Control, Parent and Wild group. These four groups formed a dataset of a so-called ‘G3 population’. The G3 population consisted of 6,826 records for Selection group; 1,116 for Control group; 1,035 for Parent group and 1,368 for Wild group. The Selection and Control group were established from a complete 3×3 diallel cross from three latest generation, namely G3_2001, G2_2002, and G2_2003. The Parent group were established from a complete 3×3 diallel cross from three earliest generations that still available, namely G2_2001, G1_2002, and G1_2003. The Wild group were established from 3 groups of wild fish that originated from Cambodia. A nested mating design (1 male mated to 2 females) was used to generate four groups (i.e., the G3 population), produced 206 full-sib families from 130 sires and 206 dams. Estimates of heritability (h^2), dominance genetic effect (d^2), and environment effects common to full-sibs (c^2) of ‘Selection group’ were 0.17 ± 0.17, 0.06 ± 0.03, and 0.27 ± 0.09 respectively. For ‘Whole population’ these estimates were 0.33 ± 0.16, 0.07 ± 0.02, and 0.24 ± 0.08 respectively. Actual selection response for Selection group in G3 population was 48% when compared with Parent group, 37% compared with Control group, and 15% compared with Wild group.