An induced mass spawn of the hermaphroditic lion-paw scallop, Nodipecten subnodosus: genetic assignment of maternal and paternal parentage

The Pacific lion-paw scallop is commonly propagated for aquaculture by induced mass spawns of few individuals. Parentage of a mass spawn of this species has not been evaluated nor has the maternal and paternal contribution of each of these functional hermaphrodites to the progeny. Genotypes of 6 spawners and 374 resulting progeny at 6 microsatellite loci were coupled with mitochondrial DNA sequencing to assign maternal and paternal parentage. After the identification of a high proportion of null alleles (9.7%), microsatellite data revealed that 51.7% of the progenies were full siblings, with a significant, unequal contribution of the 6 spawners to the progeny. Three progenies were the result of self-fertilization. All spawners contributed paternally (though unequally); however, 2 spawners were the maternal parents of all but 7 progenies resulting in a variance effective population size of 3.52. DNA sequencing confirmed 4 microsatellite mutations within 4476 alleles scored, all in the paternal germ line. With minor exception, the loci conformed to Mendelian rules of segregation when null alleles were accounted for, and 2 loci were found to be linked. These results lend insight to the genetic composition of induced mass spawns and provide a basis for the development of more effective spawning techniques.