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Updated: Jan 26, 2026
04:54
Assessing Mineral Availability in Fish Feeds using Complementary Methods Demonstrated with the Example of Zinc in Atlantic Salmon
Published on: October 29, 2021
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Selection for feed efficiency in Atlantic salmon using individual indicator traits based on stable isotope profiling
Hanne Dvergedal1, Jørgen Ødegård2,3, Margareth Øverland2
1Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Post Box 5003, 1433, Ås, Norway. hanne.dvergedal@nmbu.no.
Genetics, Selection, Evolution : GSE
|April 18, 2019
Summary
Stable isotope profiling using nitrogen-15 and carbon-13 can identify feed efficiency in Atlantic salmon. This method offers a promising, cost-effective approach for large-scale genetic selection in aquaculture.
Area of Science:
- Aquaculture
- Animal Genetics
- Nutritional Biochemistry
Background:
- Feed efficiency is a key trait in aquaculture, impacting profitability and sustainability.
- Traditional methods for measuring feed efficiency can be resource-intensive.
- Stable isotope profiling offers a novel approach to assess metabolic indicators of feed efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if stable isotope profiling (nitrogen-15 and carbon-13) can better explain feed conversion ratio variation than growth alone.
- To estimate heritabilities and genetic correlations for feed efficiency, growth, and indicator traits.
- To investigate the role of nitrogen and carbon metabolism in various tissues for feed efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Stable isotope profiling (nitrogen-15 and carbon-13) was applied to 2281 Atlantic salmon parr.
- A 12-day feeding experiment used an enriched diet.
- Leave-one-out cross-validation was employed to assess predictive power.
Main Results:
- Indicator traits and growth explained 79% of feed conversion ratio variation, compared to 62% with growth alone.
- Tissue metabolism ratios, derived from isotope fractions, served as individual feed efficiency indicators.
- These indicator traits showed high genetic correlations with feed conversion ratio but low heritabilities (0.06–0.11).
Conclusions:
- Indicator ratio traits derived from stable isotopes show potential for assessing individual feed efficiency in Atlantic salmon selection programs.
- Cost-effective production of isotope-enriched feeds can enable large-scale recording of feed efficiency traits.
- This method may reduce the need for individual feed intake recording in aquaculture selection.
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