Marker-assisted estimation of quantitative genetic parameters in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Estimation of quantitative genetic parameters conventionally requires known pedigree structure. However, several methods have recently been developed to circumvent this requirement by inferring relationship structure from molecular marker data. Here, two such marker-assisted methodologies were used and compared in an aquaculture population of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Firstly a regression-based model employing estimates of pairwise relatedness was applied, and secondly a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) procedure was employed to reconstruct full-sibships and hence an explicit pedigree. While both methods were effective in detecting significant components of genetic variance and covariance for size and spawning time traits, the regression model resulted in estimates that were quantitatively unreliable, having both significant bias and low precision. This result can be largely attributed to poor performance of the pairwise relatedness estimator. In contrast, genetic parameters estimated from the reconstructed pedigree showed close agreement with ideal values obtained from the true pedigree. Although not significantly biased, parameters based on the reconstructed pedigree were underestimated relative to ideal values. This was due to the complex structure of the true pedigree in which high numbers of half-sibling relationships resulted in inaccurate partitioning of full-sibships, and additional unrecognized relatedness between families.