One is reared in a pristine stream. The other shares a concrete box with a posse of 50,000 pellet-fed siblings. And, according to a new study on steelhead in Oregon, these wild and hatchery fish are officially different at the DNA level. The research, published today in Nature Communications, found that after one generation of hatchery culture, the offspring of wild fish and first-generation hatchery fish differed in the activity of more than 700 genes. A single generation of hatchery adaptation resulted in observable changes at the DNA level that were passed on to offspring. Scientists say the findings close the case on whether or not wild and hatchery fish can be genetically different.

“A fish hatchery is a very artificial environment that causes strong natural selection pressures,” said Michael Blouin, a professor of integrative biology in the OSU College of Science. It’s not clear exactly what traits are being selected for, but the study identified some genetic changes that may explain how the fish are responding to the hatchery environment. “We observed that a large number of genes were involved in pathways related to wound healing, immunity, and metabolism, and this is consistent with the idea that the earliest stages of domestication may involve adapting to highly crowded conditions,” added Mark Christie, lead author of the study.

The study also found that the genetic changes are substantial and rapid.

“It’s literally a process of evolution at work, but in this case it does not take multiple generations or long periods of time.”

The work was performed using steelhead from the Oregon’s Hood River. It was supported by the Bonneville Power Administration and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

See the full report, here

Tom Bie
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Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.

Category: Daily Drake
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Author: Tom Bie

Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.

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