A link between early maturation and better aerobic performance
identified in juvenile salmon

Date:
January 28, 2022
Source:
University of Helsinki
Summary:
A study indicates that early sexual maturation and high aerobic
performance in salmon have a genetic link that is already evident
in juvenile salmon.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A study conducted at the University of Helsinki indicates that early
sexual maturation and high aerobic performance in salmon have a genetic
link that is already evident in juvenile salmon.


========================================================================== Salmon are born in rivers, migrate to the sea to reach maturity and
return to spawn in their native river. While the salmon that reach their maturity at an early age return from the sea after a single year, the individuals that are slower to develop can spend two years or an even
longer time at sea.

Genomic regions have been identified in the salmon genome that heavily
regulate the number of years spent at sea. Under the direction of Academy
of Finland Research Fellow Tutku Aykanat, researchers from the University
of Helsinki bred a large number of young salmon that differed on the
basis of two such regions.

The researchers measured the basal metabolism and aerobic performance of
the juvenile salmon before the onset of their maturation process. Carriers
of gene variants associated with early sexual maturation were found to
have better aerobic performance than those whose variants were associated
with the late onset of sexual maturity. Aerobic performance denotes the metabolic capacity to produce energy through aerobic cellular respiration,
for example, in muscles.

"Greater aerobic performance can promote early maturation, since growth,
food supply and reproduction require energy produced through aerobic metabolism," says Postdoctoral Researcher Jenni Prokkola from the Faculty
of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki.

The genetic coupling of age-at-maturity and performance did not depend
on the amount of food available to the salmon, which indicates that the
finding could be generalisable to both wild salmon populations and fish
farming conditions.

"Salmon that have spent several years at sea and mature at a later date
are considerably larger and produce a larger number of offspring when
they return to spawn compared to salmon that spawn after only one year
at sea. Now, it would be important to determine whether these salmon
are more susceptible to global warming due to their poorer aerobic
performance. Higher water temperatures increase the energy needs of
fish, but the limitations of aerobic performance make adaptation to high temperatures challenging. Aerobic performance can become an increasingly important factor for salmon in warming habitats," Prokkola says.

Investigating the genetic and physiological factors that affect age at
sexual maturity is important for understanding changes taking place in
salmon populations.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Helsinki. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jenni M. Prokkola, Eirik R. AAsheim, Sergey Morozov, Paul Bangura,
Jaakko
Erkinaro, Annukka Ruokolainen, Craig R. Primmer, Tutku
Aykanat. Genetic coupling of life-history and aerobic performance
in Atlantic salmon.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2022;
289 (1967) DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2500 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220128100741.htm

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