Biochemical and genetic characteristics of suspension-cultured mussels () in relation to byssal thread production and losses by fall-off

Author： Lachance Andrée-Anne Hennebicq Remy Myrand Bruno Sévigny Jean-Marie Kraffe Edouard Marty Yanic Marcotte Isabelle Tremblay Réjean

Publisher： Edp Sciences

E-ISSN： 1765-2952|24|3|283-293

ISSN： 0990-7440

Source： Aquatic Living Resources, Vol.24, Iss.3, 2011-10, pp. : 283-293

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

Mussel culture relies on the mussel self-attachment capacity through byssus production. By doing so, no cages or containment devices are needed. It has been previously suggested that thread production requires a non-negligible part of the energy expenditure in blue mussels . Therefore our work investigates the relationships between byssal thread production, mussels energetic reserves and phospholipids profiles in the foot. The relationship between thread production and heterozygosity was also examined. The study was realized in a small lagoon of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, on four sampling dates between June and September encompassing the pre- to post-spawning periods. Our results show a significant relationship between the thread numbers and attachment strength. However, no correlations were found between energy reserves, phospholipids composition of the foot or heterozygosity level and byssal production. Our results suggest that mussels in suspension culture in this lagoon were not energy-limited so that the energy reserves did not influence the byssal thread production.