Project: Laboratory Assessment of Possible Selection for Resistance to Whirling Disease Among Progeny of Colorado River Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Primary Investigator: Alexander Zale
Project Summary: A sentinel fish experiment, conducted in Colorado, suggested that progeny of wild rainbow trout known to have recruited during the early years of M. cerebralis infestation in the Colorado River developed lower myxospore loads than fish of the same cohort but which were progeny of older fish that recruited prior to the presence of whirling disease. The inference was made that selection for resistance to whirling disease may have been responsible. This lab study was to determine whether rainbow trout produced from these two parent lines show different levels of resistance or infectivity to M. cerebralis over a range of TAM dosages. A domestic strain of rainbow trout was used to serve as a reference against the Colorado rainbow trout. Results from the study did not provide conclusive evidence that offspring from parents who survived the early years of M. cerebralis infection in the upper Colorado River display any degree of resistance to infection by this parasite. There was also no evidence found in spore counts, level of infection, or in swimming performance that there had been a selection for resistance to whirling disease among the two groups of Colorado River rainbow trout.
Funding Period: 1998-1999
Final Report: Ryce_98-99b.pdf
Dataset(s) associated with this project:

There are no datasets associated with this project.