Induction and Utilization of Tetraploidy in Atlantic Salmon as a Reliable Method for Producing Sterile Autotriploid Stock

The use of sterile, triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) has been suggested by many to be a means of mitigating the perceived genetic impacts of escaped animals on their wild counterparts. The US Atlantic salmon industry has been slow to adopt this technology, apparently due to reduced performance under stress of conventionally made (de novo) triploids. We propose to develop techniques to produce tetraploid Atlantic salmon (individuals with four sets of chromosomes). These individuals can then be reared to maturity and crossed with diploid salmon to reliably produce all triploid offspring. In recent research programs using similar methods in rainbow trout, these autotriploids have performed better than their diploid counterparts. A consistently reliable method of producing sterile triploid salmon will have both political and economic benefits for salmon aquaculture.