The SRO Breeding Program - Update and Lessons for the Australian Oyster Industry Insert MU, USC and UoN logos Check names 2019 Shellfish Futures, 16-17th August 2019

The SRO Breeding Program - Update and Lessons for the Australian Oyster Industry Multidisciplinary research and many collaborators Acknowledge authors M. Dove, P. Kube, C. Lind, V. Cumbo, W. O’Connor, M. Saowaros, A. Elizur, R. Seeto, Z. Gibb, T. Abramov, D. Raftos, E. Wilkie, SOCo and SCS 2019 Shellfish Futures, 16-17th August 2019

Future Oysters CRC-P: Accelerated SRO Breeding Research Project collaborators: NSW DPI, CSIRO, Macquarie University & SOCo Objectives: More families Increase QX resistance Understand winter mortality Markers for QX resistance

Accelerated SRO Breeding Research Outcomes Double family production Improvements to protocols, facilities, husbandry and training One year breeding cycle for QX resistance doubles the gain Required understanding of: Genetic architecture of traits SRO reproduction and QX disease cycles Logistical changes Narrowed it down to 9 genes that are informative at predicting whether individual oysters are disease reistant

Accelerated SRO Breeding Research Outcomes Better understanding of winter mortality disease (WM) WM is enigmatic More sites and more tests: Georges and Shoalhaven Rivers Spat and adults No correlation with other traits Has low to moderate heritability We can improve WM resistance with breeding WM resistance Genetic characteristics of WM expression are not well understood WM disease expression has been low and inconsistent Winter mortality resistance: low to moderately heritable responsive to selection is a trait of interest to the SRO BP not currently part of the long term breeding objective of the SRO BP No correlations have been found between WM resistance and other traits under selection Best estimates of WM resistance were from Quibray Bay using 1 year-old oysters Future: Continue WM field exposure trials of 1 year-old oysters at Quibray if resources permit Can respond if a significant WM outbreak occurs

Future Oysters CRC-P: New Technologies to Improve SRO Breeding & Production Project collaborators: NSW DPI, University of the Sunshine Coast, University of Newcastle, SOCO, SCS Objectives: Increase SRO breeding reliability Reduce conditioning time SRO Tetraploids

New Technologies to Improve SRO Breeding & Production Improve SRO family success: Broodstock conditioning (USC) maturation inducer Natural gamete release (USC) spawn inducer Preserve gametes when spawning (UoN) SRO tetraploid inductions (SCS)

SRO Breeding Program The Goal The Trials The Logistics The Progress

1. The Goal Industry breeding objective: 70% survival through a QX disease outbreak (March 2020) 30% growth advantage compared to wild oysters (March 2021) No difference in condition compared to wild oysters (March 2024) target set by industry for a commercial product which is 70% survival through a QX disease outbreak, 30% growth advantage compared to wild oysters, and no difference in condition compared to wild oysters. Those targets will be met in one to five years, depending on the trait in question. The commercial release of oysters with 70% QX disease resistance is expected in March 2020, 30% growth advantage over wild oysters is in March 2021 and oysters with no change in condition is in March 2024. These time frames are conservative estimates and can be reduced by using a more aggressive selection strategy if required.

2. The Trials QX disease resistance: Condition / growth / shape: Georges River Primary trait Spat trial Starts Feb. & survival in Jul. Condition / growth / shape: - Port Stephens September to June Assessments: Sep., Jan. & Jun. Grow out sites are used to field test family performance. This is called a ‘progeny test’ so a progeny test forms the basis for genetic evaluation We judge a parents performance by measuring their offspring And ALL relatives count (aunts, uncles cousins etc) The progeny test needs to represent all regions if there is a genetic by environment (or G by E) effect present for a particular trait FOR SROs we need progeny tests for all of our traits which are: QX disease resistance, WM disease resistance, growth, condition and shell shape Progeny test sites: for the SRO program are as follows: (read info about the progeny test sites from the screen for QX disease resistance, Meat condition and Winter mortality resistance) Winter mortality resistance - Georges River - 1 year-old trial - March to December

Hawkesbury River Semi-Commercial Trial DPI / SOCo / Hawkesbury R Hawkesbury River Semi-Commercial Trial DPI / SOCo / Hawkesbury R. Farmers Mortality: July 2018 to August 2019

3. Logistics SRO BP requirements SRO BP schedule What is needed to run the program? SRO BP schedule Important to maximise gains

Requirements (5 things) Hatchery capable of producing 60 to 80 families per year: skill set and facilities are not those available in a commercial hatchery Broodstock holding facilities, including broodstock back-ups Ability to run field testing trials: Oyster growing sites and crews for: husbandry, measures and handling data Data management system: To handle large amounts of data and only available from a specialist Quantitative genetics analyses to provide: metrics for selection decisions, inbreeding management, and strategy formulation. There are 5 key technical capabilities and facilities required for the SRO BP are: CLICK 1. Hatchery capable of producing 60 to 80 families per year. The skill set and facilities required are not those routinely available in a commercial hatchery. 2. Broodstock holding facilities, including broodstock back-ups. 3. Ability to run field testing trials, which includes oyster growing site, crews to provide the animal husbandry, and crews capable of undertaking technical measurements and collecting large amounts of data. 4. Data management system, to routinely manage large amounts of data. For selective breeding, these are not off the shelf products and need to be sourced from a specialist. 5. Quantitative genetics analyses to provide metrics for selection decisions, inbreeding management, and strategy formulation.

Schedule

Schedule

Schedule

Schedule

Schedule

4. The Progress This table shows the way that the BP has been tracking It essentially shows what the BP is doing The table shows the genetic gain for each trait as an average for all families in that particular year class

4. The Progress Our QX disease resistance breeding has yielded an annual gain in QX resistance around 10-15% per annum

4. The Progress With selection for whole oyster weight we have been getting about a 5-10% gain in whole weight per annum we have had difficulty in getting the biggest oysters to spawn and And in the 2017 we were using families with wild grandparents to keep genetic diversity in the population which accounts for the lower value for growth for year class 2017

4. Progress These columns show the genetic gain for the top 8 families in each year class If we are selecting families today to commercialise (that is the top 8 families in the BP) this is what we can provide now These animals are of a spawnable size and age and this is what the breeding program can offer Although we are still fine tuning aspects of the BP , This table tells us our annual expectation for each of our traits

4. Progress We can also check on how we are tracking towards the breeding objective. We said that we would be able to offer 70% survival through a QX disease outbreak in the 2018 year class and oysters with 30% growth advantage compared to wild oysters and we are on track with delivering this goal

The SRO Breeding Program Now operational Further development: family production, WM, QX markers Lessons: Provides the ability to respond to future needs & problems Ensures industry sustainability into the future

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Future Oysters CRC-P & FRDC Oyster growers: Bruce Alford, Chris and Dominic Boyton, Alan Brooks, Michael Brooks, Glenn Browne, John and Annette Collison, Gary Collison, Geoff Diemar, Rob Diemar, Bob, Len and Ted Drake, Keith Duggan, Bob Hill, David Maidment, Ewan McAsh, Kevin McAsh, Rob Moxham, Tony Troup, Steve Verdich. Port Stephens Fisheries Institute Hatchery Staff: Stephan O’Connor, Lynne Foulkes, Andrew Parnell, Mitch Elkins, Norm Lawler, Walter Scifleet. Also: John Nell, Ben Perkins and Ben Finn. Acknowledgements