Scientific breakthrough: International collaboration has sequenced the Atlantic salmon genome
Corporate publications and documents Contact Scientific breakthrough: International collaboration has sequenced the Atlantic salmon genome Vancouver, BC, June 10, 2014 – Today the International Cooperation to Sequence the Atlantic SalmonGenome (ICSASG) announced completion of a fully mapped and openly accessible salmon genome. Thisreference genome will provide crucial information to fish managers to improve the production andsustainability of aquaculture operations, and address challenges around conservation of wild stocks,preservation of at-risk fish populations and environmental sustainability. This breakthrough was announced atthe International Conference on Integrative Salmonid Biology (ICISB) being held in Vancouver this week. Salmonids are an important piece of the economic and social fabric of communities on BC’s coastline andmany other countries including Norway and Chile. The fisheries and aquaculture sector is one of theeconomic engines of BC: seafood is the province’s largest agri-food export, contributing $870 million of theprovince’s total agri-food exports of $2.5 billion1. High value species such as salmon make a significanteconomic contribution to the economy. Canada’s Atlantic salmon related aquaculture revenues exceed $600million annually2 and BC is the only province with a commercial salmon fishery. Salmonids are also a key species for research and while some salmon genetic information is known, manyfundamental questions have remained: a fully assembled reference sequence available for researchersworldwide will have a major impact on revealing information about salmon and other salmonids, such asrainbow trout and Pacific salmon. Viruses and pathogens are a challenging hazard to livelihoods and economies dependent on salmon andthis sequence provides real support to improve the production of salmonids in a sustainable way. Otherbenefits of the salmon sequence include applications for food security and traceability and broodstockselection for commercially important traits. Healthier food, more environmentally sound fish […]