Linking pedigree information to gene expression phenotype for understanding the mechanisms behind the differential family survival in Pacific bluefin tuna aquaculture. Thunnus orientalis

We investigated the influence of parental effects on survival and gene expression phenotype in the early stages of Pacific bluefin tuna (PBT), Thunnus orientalis in a mass culture tank. Initially, parentage was determined using partial mitochondrial DNA control region sequence and 11 microsatellite (MS) loci at 1, 10, 15 and 40 days post hatch (DPH). A dramatic proportional change in the family representations was observed around at 15 DPH, and therefore we conducted a transcriptome analysis for the 15 DPH larvae by a previously developed oligonucleotide-microarray.