Comparison of good and poor swimmers (Atlantic Salmon parr) after a maximum swimming effort

Swimming performance correlates with fitness of Atlantic salmon in the wild and farm conditions. Variation of this trait in salmon populations is high. The study assessed relationship between two parameters of swimming performance: the ability to cope with moderate and maximum swimming efforts. Atlantic salmon parr (average weight 25g) were classified as good or poor swimmers (best and worst performers) in a swim tunnel by an ramp-up program. After a recovery period of two weeks, individual fish were placed in a respiration swim tunnel, swam until exhaustion and the respiration rate was measured. The fish were either sampled right after exhaustion (E_crit) or after a recovery time of two hours (respiration). RNA from individuals (Cy3) were hybridized in a two-color setup together with an equalized mix of all test fish (Cy5).