Department Fish Ecology and Evolution

A European Whitefish Linkage Map and Its Implications for Understanding Genome-Wide Synteny Between Salmonids Following Whole Genome Duplication

December 20, 2018

Rishi De-Kayne and Philine Feulner are investigating the genetic basis of the spectacular whitefish radiation in Swiss lakes. To do this, new genetic tools are essential. One such tool is the new linkage map they have published in the journal G3.

With this "map" they can compare the structure of the whitefish genome with that of other salmonids. They found that Atlantic salmon and Swiss whitefish have very different genomic structures. The whitefish genome structure is more similar to that of other salmonids such as rainbow trout. In addition, they have discovered special structures that only exist in whitefish, which they want to study more closely in the future.