Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Please see the attached.

Accomplishments of WERA-099: (1) The twenty year Western Regional Aquaculture Consortium oyster breeding project on C. gigas has been completed and the resultant improved lines given to Taylor United for further improvements. That work has yielded some better performing more commercially desirable lines. (2) An oyster hepatopancreas microarray containing genes for both C. gigas and C. virginica as well as some genes from one of the oyster pathogens, Haplosporidium nelsoni, has been developed by members of WERA -099 at the Medical University of South Carolina. It is widely available for the oyster breeding community to assist in studies of growth, physiology, disease states including juvenile oyster disease, and in charting the immune system of oysters. (3) With the advent of DNA typing and microarrays, WERA-099 participants are now cognizant that morphological characteristics do not necessarily determine the species of oyster; and that in order to perform intelligent breeding schemes and to perform restoration with particular stocks, scientists will have to establish a reference library of DNA from what are considered the early forms of each oyster species. (4) Members of WERA-099 have made a decision to take advantage of the National Animal Germplasm Program, Fort Collins CO and place specimens of valuable lines in the bank. Members of the group also agreed to donate reference DNA to that repository from their important lines. (5) Members of WERA-099 are preparing a joint multi-state proposal for the sequencing of the genome of the oyster. The work began at the WERA-099 meeting in Philadephia, April 10.

Peer Reviewed Publications: Committee on Nonnative Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay J. Anderson (Co-Chair), D. Hedgecock (Co-Chair), M. Berrigan, K. Criddle, W. Dewey, S. Ford, P. Goulletquer, R. Hildreth, M. Paolisso, N. Targett, R. Whitlatch. 2004. Nonnative Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. National Research Council of the National Academies. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. 325 pp. Hubert, S., and D. Hedgecock. 2004. Linkage maps of microsatellite DNA markers for the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Genetics 168:351-362. Hedgecock, D., G. Li, S. Hubert, K. Bucklin, and V. Ribes. 2004. Widespread null alleles and poor cross-species amplification of microsatellite DNA loci cloned from the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Journal of Shellfish Research 23:379-385. He, Y., Dong, Q., Tiersch, T.R., and Devireddy, R.V. 2004. Variation in the membrane transport properties and predicted optimal rates of freezing for spermatozoa of diploid and tetraploid Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Biology of Reproduction 70:1428-1437. Dong, Q., Eudeline, B., Huang, C., and Tiersch, T.R. 2005. Standardization of photometric measurement of sperm cell concentration from diploid and tetraploid Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg). Aquaculture Research 36:86-93. Dong, Q., Eudeline, B., Huang, C., Allen, S.K., and Tiersch, T.R. 2005. Commercial-scale sperm cryopreservation of diploid and tetraploid Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas. Cryobiology 50:1-16. Reece, K.S., Ribeiro, W.L., Gaffney, P.M., Carnegie, R.B., and Allen, S.K. Jr. (2004) Microsatellite marker development and analysis in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica: Confirmation of null alleles and non-Mendelian segregation ratios. J. Heredity 95:355-361. Huvet, A., Herpin, A., Dégremont, L., Labreuche, Y., Samain, J.F., and Cunningham, C. (2004) The identification of genes from the oyster Crassostrea gigas that are differentially expressed in families exhibiting opposed susceptibility to summer mortality. Gene 343:211-220. Kim, H-W, Mykles, D.L., Goetz, F.W., Roberts, S.B. (2004) Characterization of an invertebrate myostatin homologue from the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians. BBA Gene Structure and Expression. 1679(2):174-9 Roberts, S.B. (2004) Lab Studies: Genes Involved with Growth, Development of Bay Scallops. Global Aquaculture Advocate. 7(3): 55-56 Publications in Review Camara, M.D., Carnegie, R. Allen, S.K. Jr. (in review) Outcrossing among commercial strains of the Northern Quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria: Survival growth, and implications for selective breeding. Submitted to Aquaculture. Zhang, Q, Allen, S.K., Jr., and Reece, K.S. (in press) Genetic variation in wild and hatchery stocks of the Suminoe oyster (Crassostrea ariakensis) assessed by PCR-RFLP and microsatellite markers. Mar. Biotechnol. Herpin, A., Lelong, C., Becker, T., Favrel, P., Cunningham, C. Structural and functional evidence for a type 1 TGF-beta sensu stricto receptor in the lophotrochozoan Crassostrea gigas. Mechanisms of Development (in press). Herpin, A., Becker, T., Rosa, F.M., Favrel, P., Cunningham, C. Molecular and functional characterization of a new Tolloid like protein from a lophotrochozoan organism suggests orthology to its vertebrate counterparts. Submitted to Evolution & Development. Herpin, A., Lelong, C., Becker, T., Favrel, P., Cunningham, C. Structural and functional evidence for a type 1 BMP receptor in the lophotrochozoan Crassostrea gigas. Submitted to Gene. Roberts, S.B., Romano, C., Gerlach, G. (2005) Characterization of EST derived SSRs from the bay scallop, Argopectens irradians. Molecular Ecology Notes. In press Abstracts Hedgecock, D., G. Li, and M.-L. Voigt. 2004. Mapping heterosis QTL in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. http://www.intl-pag.org/12/abstracts/W06_PAG12_19.html Lundqvist, M.L., M.J. Jenny, G.W. Warr, P.S Gross, G.R. Vasta, J.A.F. Robledo, Z.J. Liu, J. Tomkins, G.C. Fang, C. Saski, M. Gomez-Chiarri, J.-M. Escoubas, E. Bachere, P. Roche, D. Hedgecock, and R.W. Chapman. 2004. Current state of oyster (Crassostrea) functional genomics resources. http://www.intl-pag.org/12/abstracts/P5o_PAG12_735.html Presentations Langdon, C. 2004. Challenges for Aquaculture in the 21st century. Seminar speaker, School of Fisheries, University of Washington. Langdon, C. 2004. Breeding better oysters. Seminar. Plymouth Marine Laboratories, U.K. Langdon, C., Evans, F., Brake, J., Matson, S. 2004. Improvement in yields of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas by means of family selection. 96th annual meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association, March 1-5, 2004, Honolulu, USA. Evans, F., Langdon, C., 2004. Effects of genotype-environment interactions on yield of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) families in the Pacific Northwest. 58th Annual Meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association Pacific Coast Section and Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Tacoma, WA (USA), Oct. 12-14, 2004. Evans, F., Langdon, C., 2004. The effects of nursery environment on adult performance traits in Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas. 96th annual meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association, March 1-5, 2004, Honolulu, USA Reece, K.S. A Non-native Oyster for Chesapeake Bay? Seminar presentation at Oregon State University February 24, 2004. Reece, K.S. and Burreson, E.M. The Role of Molecular Biology in International Regulation: Shellfish Health. Invited Workshop Presentation. Aquaculture Biotechnology Workshop Sponsored by St. Andrews Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Aquaculture Association of Canada Workshop. May 11-12, 2004. Reece, K.S. A Non-native Oyster for Chesapeake Bay; Penny-wise, pound-foolish? Seminar presentation at Juniata College. June 30, 2004. Reece, K.S. Crassostrea ariakensis for Chesapeake Bay? Species Identification and Crassostrea spp. Phylogeny, Diseases in the Native Range. Seminar Presentation at Rutgers University, November 22, 2004. Luckenbach, M., Carnegie, R., Coen, L.D., Paynter, K., Jr. and Reece, K.S. (2004) Observations on the ecology of Crassostrea ariakensis in its native range. International Conference on Shellfish Restoration. November 17-20, 2004, Charleston, SC. Cordes, J.F. and Reece, K.S. (2004) Genetic identification of oyster species based on restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of two molecular markers amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). International Conference on Shellfish Restoration. November 17-20, 2004, Charleston, SC. Carnegie, R.B., Scott, G.P., Johnson, K., Ragone Calvo, L.M., Camara, M.D. and Reece, K.S. (2004) Development of a microsatellite marker set for the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. Aquaculture 2004, March 1-5, Honolulu HI. Evans, F., Langdon, C., 2004. Effects of genotype-environment interactions on yield of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) families in the Pacific Northwest. 58th Annual Meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association Pacific Coast Section and Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Tacoma, WA (USA), Oct. 12-14, 2004. Evans, F., Langdon, C., 2004. The effects of nursery environment on adult performance traits in Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas. 96th annual meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association, March 1-5, 2004, Honolulu, USA Langdon, C, Evans, F., Brake, J., Matson, S. 2004. Improvement in yields of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas by means of family selection. 96th annual meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association, March 1-5, 2004, Honolulu, USA.