Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effect of selection treatments on Mytilus edulis, modifications of genetic and physiological characteristics

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined the effects of two selection treatments (elevated water temperature and air exposure) on the genetic and physiological characteristics of the juvenile marine mussel, Mytilus edulis (<10 mm). Genetic effects were measured on five allozymes and fitness assessed using physiological tests to estimate energy balance (scope for growth) as well as size, growth and survival. The in vitro treatments resulted in 48% mortality from an air exposure of 11 h at 27°C and 76% mortality from a 6-h exposure to 33°C water. Survivors (n = 1,152) of each treatment along with controls (n = 2,304) were measured and randomly placed in compartmentalized cages. Mussels were deployed to three bays in Prince Edward Island, Canada and monitored over a 10-month period. Initially, both of the treatments had an effect on mussel size and increased the heterozygosity of the surviving mussels. Physiological analyses after 3 months in the field showed that the two treated mussels showed lower metabolic rate that the control group. After 10 months in the field, the treated mussels were larger and had lower mortality than the untreated control mussels. Unexplained environmental interaction in each of the bays had an effect on allelic frequencies and heterozygosity. Overall, the results demonstrate that simple husbandry techniques can be used to increase the productivity of mussel seed and heterozygosity measures can be used to assess fitness. However, more field data is needed to determine the consistency of the increased productivity and if the increased productivity justifies the costs of a selective treatment. Furthermore, because the level of heterozygosity in juvenile mussel populations can vary considerably, both spatially and temporally, it may be effective as a warning of future natural mass mortality when overall heterozygosity levels are found to be low.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bayne BL (1984) Responses to environmental stress: tolerance, resistance and adaptation. Proceedings of the 8th European marine biology symposium, University of Oslo, Norway, 14–20 August 1983, pp 331–349

  • Bayne BL, Hawkins AJS (1997) Protein metabolism, the costs of growth, and genomic heterozygosity: experiments with the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. Physiol Zool 70:391–402

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bayne BL, Hedgecock D McGoldrick RR (1999) Feeding behaviour and metabolic efficiency contribute to growth heterosis in pacific oysters [ Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg)]. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 233:115–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaumont AR (1991) Genetic studies of laboratory reared mussels, Mytilus edulis: heterozygote deficiencies, heterozygosity and growth. Biol J Linn Soc 44:273–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaumont AR, Toro JE (1996) Allozyme genetics of Mytilus edulis subjected to copper and nutritive stress. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 76:1061–1071

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Belkhir K, Borsa P, Goudet J, Chikhi L and Bonhomme F (1998) GENETIX, logiciel sous WindowsTM pour la génétique des populations. Laboratoire Génome et Populations, CNRS UPR 9060, Université de Montpellier II, Montpellier, France

  • Bierne N, Tsitrone A, David P (2000) An inbreeding model of associative overdominance during a population bottleneck. Genetics 155:1981–1990

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bierne N, Daguin C, Bonhomme S, David P, Borsa P (2003) Direct selection on allozymes is not required to explain heterogeneity among marker loci across a Mytilus hybrid zone. Mol Ecol 12:2505–2510

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borrell YJ, Pineda H, McCarthy I, Vazquez E, Sanchez JA, Lizana GB (2004) Correlations between fitness and heterozygosity at allozyme and microsatellite loci in the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. Heredity 92:585–593

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Britten HB (1996) Meta-analyses of the association between multilocus heterozygosity and fitness. Evolution 50(6):2158–2164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman N, Trueman ER (1971) The effect of aerial exposure on the activity of the mussels Mytilus edulis L. and Modiolus modiolus (L.). J Exp Biol Ecol 7:295–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conover RJ (1966) Assimilation of organic matter by zooplankton. Limnol Oceanogr 11:338–354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotter AJR, Phillips DJH, Ahsanullah M (1982) The significance of temperature, salinity and zinc as lethal factors for the mussel Mytilus edulis in a polluted estuary. Mar Biol 68:135–141

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crane C (2003) Unpublished salinity data (1998–2003) from the August survey. Prince Edward Island Department of Environment and Energy, Water Management Division, Charlottetown

  • DeWoody YD, DeWoody JA (2005) On the estimation of genome-wide heterozygosity using molecular markers. J Hered 96:85–88

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dufresne F, Bourget E, Bernatchez L (2002) Differential patterns of spatial divergence in microsatellite and allozyme alleles: further evidence for locus-specific selection in the acorn barnacle, Semibalanus balanoides? Mol Ecol 11:113–123

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Famme P, Knudsen J, Hansen ES (1981) The effect of oxygen on the aerobic–anaerobic metabolism of the marine bivalve, Mytilus edulis L. Mar Biol Lett 2:345–351

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (2001) P.E.I. mussel monitoring program 2001 report. Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Report Series. Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment, Prince Edward Island

  • Gaffney PM (1986) Physiological genetics of growth in marine bivalves. Ph.D. dissertation, State University New York, Stony Brook

  • Gardner JPA, Kathiravetpillai G (1997) Biochemical genetic variation at a leucine aminopeptidase (LAP*) locus in blue (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and greenshell (Perna canaliculus) mussel populations along a salinity gradient. Mar Biol 128:619–625

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gentili MR, Beaumont AR (1988) Environmental stress, heterozygosity, and growth rate in Mytilus edulis L. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 120:145–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilek M, Tedengren M, Kautsky N (1992) Physiological performance and general histology of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, from the Baltic and North Seas. Neth J Sea Res 30:11–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosling EM (1992) Genetics of Mytilus. In: Gosling E (ed) The mussel Mytilus: ecology, physiology, genetics and culture. Developments in aquaculture and fisheries science, vol 25. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 353–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins AJS, Bayne BL, Day AJ (1986) Protein turnover, physiological energetics and heterozygosity in the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis: the basis of variable age-specific growth. Proc R Soc Lond B 229:161–176

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heath DD, Bryden CA, Shrimpton JM, Iwama GK, Kelly J, Heath JW (2002) Relationships between heterozygosity, allelic distance (d2), and reproductive traits in chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 59:77–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hebert DPN, Beaton MJ (1989) Methodologies for allozyme analysis cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Helena Laboratories, Texas, p 32

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman GE, Parsons PA (1991) Evolutionary genetics and environmental stress. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman GE, Somero GN (1995) Evidence for protein damage at environmental temperatures: seasonal changes in levels of ubiquitin conjugates and HSP 70 in the intertidal mussel Mytilus trossulus. J Exp Biol 198:1509–1518

    Google Scholar 

  • Honkoop PJC, Bayne BL, Underwood AJ, Svensson S (2003) Appropriate experimental design for transplanting mussels (Mytilus sp.) in analyses of environmental stress: an example in Sydney Harbour (Australia). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 297:253–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hummel H, Bogaards R, Amiard-Triquet C, Bachelet G, Desprez M, Marchand J, Rybarczyk H, Sylvand B, de Wit Y, de Wolf L (1995) Uniform variation in genetic traits of a marine bivalve related to starvation, pollution and geographic clines. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 191:133–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jorgensen CB (1992) Heterozygosity and energetics of growth in suspension-feeding bivalves: a re-examination. Ophelia 36:171–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Koehn RK (1991) The cost of enzyme synthesis in the genetics of energy balance and physiological performance. Biol J Linn Soc 44:231–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koehn RK, Bayne BL (1989) Towards a physiological and genetical understanding of the energetics of the stress response. Biol J Linn Soc 37:157–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Koehn RK, Gaffney PM (1984) Genetic heterozygosity and growth rate in Mytilus edulis. Mar Biol 82:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koehn RK, Hilbish TJ (1987) The adaptative importance of genetic variation. Am Sci 75:134–141

    Google Scholar 

  • LeBlanc N, Landry T, Stryhn H, Tremblay R, McNiven M, Davidson J (2005) The effect of high air and water temperature on juvenile Mytilus edulis in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Aquaculture 243:185–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesbarreres D, Primmer C, Laurila A, Juha M (2005) Environmental and population dependency of genetic variability-fitness correlations in Rana temporaria. Mol Ecol 14:311–323

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews MA, McMahon RF (1995) Survival of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) under extreme hypoxia. US Army Corps of Engineers. Waterways Experiment Station. Technical report EL-95-3

  • Mitton JB (1994) Molecular approaches to population biology. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 25:45–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreau V, Tremblay R, Bourget E (2005) Distribution of Mytilus edulis and M-trossulus on the Gaspe coast in relation to spatial scale. J Shellfish Res 24:545–551

    Google Scholar 

  • Myrand B, Tremblay R, Sevigny JM (2002) Selection against blue mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) homozygotes under various stressful conditions. J Hered 93:238–248

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Navarro JM, Leiva GE, Martinez G, Aguilera C (2000) Interactive effects of diet and temperature on the scope for growth of the scallop Argopecten purpuratus during reproductive conditioning. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 247:67–83

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paukstis GL, Tucker JK, Bronikowski AM, Janzen FJ (1999) Survivorship of aerially-exposed zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) under laboratory conditions. J Freshwater Ecol 14:511–517

    Google Scholar 

  • Pecon Slattery J, Lutz RA, Vrijenjoek RC (1993) Repeatability of correlations between heterozygosity, growth, and survival in a natural population of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 165:209–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Planes S, Romans P (2004) Evidence of genetic selection for growth in new recruits of a marine fish. Mol Ecol 13:2049–2060

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pluess AR, Stöcklin J (2004) Genetic diversity and fitness in Scabiosa columbaria in the Swiss Jura in relation to population size. Conserv Genet 5:1–12 (uncorrected proof)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pogson GH, Zouros E (1994) Allozyme and RFLP heterozygosities as correlates of growth rate in the scallop Placopecten magellanicus: a test of the associative overdominance hypothesis. Genetics 137:221–231

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rand DM, Spaeth PS, Sackton TB, Schmidt PS (2002) Ecological genetics of MPI* and GPI* polymorphisms in the acorn barnacle and the spatial scale of neutral and non-neutral variation. Integr Comp Biol 42:825–836

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rawson PD, Joyner KL, Meetze K, Hilbish TJ (1996) Evidence for intragenic recombination within a novel marker that distinguishes mussels in the Mytilus edulis species complex. Heredity 77:599–607

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond M, Rousset F (1995) Genepop, version 1.2. Population genetics software for exact test and ecuminicisms. J Hered 86:248–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Rice WR (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43:223–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riginos C, Cunningham CW (2005) Local adaptation and species segregation in two mussel (Mytilus edulis × Mytilus trossulus) hybrid zones. Mol Ecol 14:381–400

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riisgård HU (1991) Filtration rate and growth in the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis Linneaus, 1758: dependence on algal concentration. J Shellfish Res 10:29–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott TM, Koehn RK (1990) The effects of environmental stress on the relationship of heterozygosity to growth rate in the coot clam Mulinia lateralis (Say). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 135:109–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shick JM, Widdows J (1981) Direct and indirect calorimetric measurement of metabolic rate in bivalve molluscs during aerial exposure. Am Zool 21:983–996

    Google Scholar 

  • Skibinski DOF, Roderick EE (1991) Evidence of selective mortality in favour of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk phenotype in British mussel populations. Biol J Linn Soc 42:351–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sukhotin AA, Lajus DL, Lesin PA (2003) Influence of age and size on puMPI*ng activity and stress resistance in the marine bivalve Mytilus edulis L. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 284:129–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson RJ, Bayne BL (1972) Active metabolism associated with feeding in the mussel Mytilus edulis L. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 9:111–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay R, Myrand B, Sevigny JM, Guderley H, Blier P (1998) Bioenergetic and genetic parameters in relation to susceptibility of blue mussels, Mytilus edulis (L) to summer mortality. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 221:27–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsitrone A, Rousset F, David P (2001) Heterosis, marker mutational processes and population inbreeding history. Genetics 159:1845–1859

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Véliz D, Bourget E, Bernatchez (2004) Regional variation in the spatial scale of selection at MPI** and GPI** in the acorn barnacle Semibalanus balanoides (Crustacea). J Evol Biol 17:953–966

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waldmann P (2001) The effect of inbreeding on fluctuating asymmetry in Scabiosa canescens (Dipsacaceae). Evol Ecol 15:117–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallis RL (1975) Thermal tolerance of Mytilus edulis of Eastern Australia. Mar Biol 30:183–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir BS, Cockerham CC (1984) Estimating F-statistics for the analysis of population structure. Evolution 38:1358–1370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Widdows J, Johnson D (1988) Physiological energetics of Mytilus edulis: scope for growth. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 46:113–121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhukovskaya EA, Kodolova OP (2003) Effects of genotypes at the unspecified esterase (Est) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP*) loci on the temporal dynamics of the morphological variation in the Black Sea mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam. Biol Bull 30:262–270

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zouros E, Foltz DW (1987) The use of allelic isozyme variation for the study of heterosis. Isozyme 13:1–59

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Garth Arsenault for his technical assistance as well as Stephen Stewart (Stewart Mussel farms), Bob Fortune (United Mussel Farms) and Russell Dockendorf (P.E.I. Mussel King) for their participation in the field study. This work was supported by the Prince Edward Island Aquaculture Alliance with funds from the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program, the Aquaculture and Fisheries Research Initiative, the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Forestry and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, Canada, C1A 4P3

    Neil LeBlanc, Jeff Davidson & Mary McNiven

  2. Institut des sciences de la mer, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5L 3A1

    Réjean Tremblay

  3. Mollusc Section, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Science Branch, Gulf Fisheries Centre, P.O. Box 5030, Moncton, NB, Canada, E1C 9B6

    Thomas Landry

  4. Joint Research and Development Division, Departments of Virology, The National Veterinary Institute (SVA) and The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Ulls väg 2B, 751 89, Uppsala, Sweden

    Neil LeBlanc

Authors
  1. Neil LeBlanc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Réjean Tremblay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jeff Davidson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Thomas Landry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mary McNiven
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Neil LeBlanc.

Additional information

Communicated by M. Kühl.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

LeBlanc, N., Tremblay, R., Davidson, J. et al. The effect of selection treatments on Mytilus edulis, modifications of genetic and physiological characteristics. Mar Biol 153, 1141–1152 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0885-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0885-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation