Quantitative trait locus mapping of growth-related traits in inter-specific F1 hybrid grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatusxE-lanceolatus) in a tropical climate

Growth-related traits are the main target of genetic breeding programmes in grouper aquaculture. We constructed genetic linkage maps for tiger grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) and giant grouper (E. lanceolatus) using 399 simple sequence repeat markers and performed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to identify the genomic regions responsible for growth-related traits in F-1 hybrid grouper (E. fuscoguttatusxE. lanceolatus). The tiger grouper (female) linkage map contained 330 markers assigned to 24 linkage groups (LGs) and spanned 1,202.0cM. The giant grouper (male) linkage map contained 231 markers distributed in 24 LGs and spanned 953.7cM. Six QTLs affecting growth-related traits with 5% genome-wide significance were detected on different LGs. Four QTLs were identified for total length and body weight on Efu_LG8, 10, 13 and 19 on the tiger grouper map, which explained 6.6%-12.0% of the phenotypic variance. An epistatic QTL with a reciprocal association was observed between Efu_LG8 and 10. Two QTLs were identified for body weight on Ela_LG3 and 10 on the giant grouper map, which explained 6.9% of the phenotypic variance. Two-way analysis of variance indicated that the QTL on Efu_LG13 interacts with the QTLs on Ela_LG3 and 10 with large effects on body weight. Furthermore, these six QTLs showed different features among the winter, summer and rainy seasons, suggesting that environmental factors and fish age affected these QTLs. These findings will be useful to understand the genetic structure of growth and conduct genetic breeding in grouper species.