Combining Ability of Female Channel Catfish, <i>Ictalurus punctatus</i>, and Male Blue Catfish, <i>I. furcatus</i>, for Early Growth Performance of Their Progeny
Ramjie Odin,
Ahmed Elaswad,
Karim Khalil,
Khoi Vo,
Nathan J. C. Backenstose,
Zachary Taylor,
David Drescher,
William S. Bugg,
Dalton Robinson,
Kamal Gosh,
Zhi Ye,
Guyu Qin,
David Creamer,
Rex Dunham
Affiliations
Ramjie Odin
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Ahmed Elaswad
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Karim Khalil
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Khoi Vo
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Nathan J. C. Backenstose
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Zachary Taylor
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
David Drescher
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
William S. Bugg
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Dalton Robinson
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Kamal Gosh
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Zhi Ye
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Guyu Qin
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
David Creamer
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Rex Dunham
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
The hybrid between the female channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and the male blue catfish (I. furcatus) is the best genetic type currently available for commercial catfish farming due to their superior traits. However, further genetic improvements can be achieved by selecting parents with increased combining abilities. Twenty female channel catfish and twelve male blue catfish were crossed in a partial factorial mating design, resulting in forty hybrid families. These families were evaluated for early growth in three different rearing systems, including ponds and aquaria. The early growth performance of hybrid catfish was significantly (p < 0.05) affected by the additive gene action of the female parent and the male parent. There were genotype–environment or genotype–age interactions affecting the combining abilities, both the amount and the type of genetic variation. Dam GCA was significant in all environments/ages; however, sire GCA was variable, and SCA was not significant. These findings suggest that reciprocal recurrent selection for growth could potentially improve the performance of F1 hybrid catfish.
