Location: Pacific Shellfish Research Unit
Project Number: 2076-63000-005-024-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2024
End Date: Jul 31, 2025
Objective:
1) Improve resistance of Pacific coast oyster breeding populations to variants of the oyster herpes virus OsHV-1;
2) Design and implement new breeding and broodstock management strategies to improve the reliability and efficiency of hatchery and farm production;
3) Determine the distribution and intensity of Pacific oyster mortalities due to diseases and environmental stressors along the Pacific coast.
Approach:
Improve resistance of Pacific coast oyster stocks to variants of the oyster herpes virus OsHV-1. The ARS Pacific Oyster Genomic Selection (POGS) program is selecting Pacific oyster families that demonstrate high survival when exposed to OsHV-1 in laboratory and field conditions.
Design and implement breeding and broodstock management strategies to improve reliability and efficiency of hatchery and farm production. Molecular assays will be developed for determining the sex of Pacific oyster broodstock to facilitate efficient use of conditioning space and resources required to obtain balanced broodstock sex-ratios.
Determine the distribution and intensity of Pacific oyster mortalities, pathogens and environmental stresses along the Pacific coast. Sentinel oysters will be sampled at regular intervals, mortality rates correlated with physiological and reproductive status and environmental conditions, and tissues sent to collaborators for quantitative analysis of OsHV-1.
