GRANT
NUMBER:
NA66FD0110
NMFS NUMBER:
95-SWR-007
REPORT
TITLE:
Conservation of Commercial Kumamoto Oyster Broodstock
AUTHOR:
Anja Robinson
PUBLISH
DATE:
November 12, 1998
AVAILABLE
FROM:
National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Region, 7600
Sand Point Way NE, BIN C15700, Bldg #1, Seattle, WA 98115.
TELEPHONE: (206) 526-6115
ABSTRACT

In order to
establish a true Kumamoto oyster (Crasosstrea sikamea)
broodstock for a commercial scale production of larvae
in hatcheries, Kumamoto-type oysters with characteristics
features of deep cupped, fluted valves and small adult
size were collected on commercial growing grounds from
California to Washington. Samples of gill tissue were
analyzed by comparing the patterns in DNA. According the
results, only the true Kumamoto oysters and their offspring
were kept for future stock commercial broodstock.
More than two
decades ago Kumamoto oyster Crasosstrea sikamea
was crossed with pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas
in a commercial hatchery in the hope to produce a oyster
with good qualities of both species. Despite of the continuous
efforts to select the broodstock oyster by morphology
hatchery produced seed of Kumamoto oyster has been reported
to grow up resembling Pacific Oyster. The technology to
distinguish genetic differences between Kumamoto and Pacific
oysters was developed at Dr. Hedgecocks laboratory
at Bodega Bay, California. In this study, the molecular
markers were used to select pure Kumamoto oysters for
future commercial broodstock. Audactor muscles of the
oysters were relaxed by holding the oysters in a magnesium
chloride solution in order to remove a small peice of
gill tissue for DNA analysis. Each oyster and sample of
gill tissue were numbered accordingly and oysters placed
into running sea water for recovery. According to the
results of the DNA analysis, true Kumamoto oysters were
conditioned for spawning, spawned, mated pair-wise by
selecting individuals from different origin in the hope
of genetic diversity, larvae was reared through metamorphasis,
set and delivered to commercial growing grounds for future
commercial broodstock oysters. A total of 810 oysters
were analyzed and 730 were identified as true Kumamoto
oysters which have been sent to commercial hatcheries
for pure Kumamoto oyster broodstock.