Gene Pooling

By Roberts Lab

An experiment in audio from the Roberts Lab at the University of Washington.... more

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about Gene Pooling:

How many episodes does Gene Pooling have?

The podcast currently has 91 episodes available.

Gene Pooling episodes:

July 08, 2025 Hot Dogs, Clams, and the Science of Connection
Read more at https://genefish.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/tank-maintenance-rna-and-bbqs/
...more
8min
July 07, 2025VIMS Day 4 – Ph Strip for Energy Use
This post details the resazurin trials conducted at VIMS on Day 4 with C. virginica oyster families. The primary goal of these trials is to test whether metabolic rate corresponds to oyster performance once they are outplanted into the field, by correlating resazurin data with predicted and observed performance values.
Here’s a summary of the key aspects from the trials:
Trial Setup: The researchers are visiting VIMS to conduct resazurin trials on 50 oyster families, half selected for low salinity performance and the other half for high salinity performance. On Day 4, they ran full family trials with temperature exposure, loading 22 plates with a total of 440 oysters.
Procedure: The protocol involved allocating oysters to plates, taking images for size analysis, completing metadata, adding chilled resazurin solution, taking initial measurements (T0), incubating plates at 40°C, staggering plate readings, taking hourly measurements (T1, T2), chilling plates at 4°C after 2.5 hours of exposure, and taking final measurements (T3, T4). Temperature in the wells was recorded throughout using an infrared thermometer.
Observations and Troubleshooting:
The resazurin solution temperature and initial fluorescence values were similar to previous days.
A temperature gradient within plates was observed, similar to yesterday, suggesting future trials should include plate rotation. Replicates were arranged by family in each row to allow for statistical accounting of this gradient.
Temperatures followed the same pattern as previous days, but started colder.
A recommendation was made to use mid-range oyster sizes (10mm-18mm) for future 24-well plate trials due to size variability.
Critical Considerations for Growers:
This project is an exciting first step, but currently, there is not enough data to make recommendations to growers on which stocks may be more tolerant or have higher performance based on the resazurin assay.
Understanding whether a higher or lower metabolic rate is advantageous requires more context, including the environmental history of the stocks, the specific stress profile used, and the lifestage of the tested stocks.
Continued data collection is essential before general conclusions or recommendations can be made.
Preliminary Results and Analyses:
Metabolic rate was significantly different between families and showed a high degree of variability.
Metabolic responses for each family were fairly consistent between all days of measurements.
Metabolic rates differed by phenotype: Families bred for survival in low salinity environments had higher metabolic rates.
Total metabolic activity (Area Under the Curve – AUC) also showed significant variation between families and phenotypes.
Clustering analysis identified three metabolic activity groups: low, medium, and high. Most families showed a mixture of these groups, indicating high variability in metabolism within families.
Repeatability (intra-class correlations) was low (R = 0.111), indicating most variation is within familieswith little family structure.
Heritability estimates were also low (H2 = 0.0056), further suggesting low family structure and high variability in metabolism within families.
Correlations with Predicted Traits: The researchers correlated total metabolic activity (AUC) and metabolic rate under the first hour of stress with predicted survival and weight in high and low salinity environments.
No relationship was found between metabolic activity (either AUC or stress response) and predicted survival in high salinity environments or predicted weight in either high or low salinity environments.
A positive relationship was found between metabolic activity (both AUC and stress response) and predicted survival in low salinity environments, but ONLY for the low salinity selected families. There was a non-significant trend for a negative relationship in high salinity selected families.
It’s important to note these are predicted performance values, not actual measured values from the field.
Next Steps: The crucial next step is to relate metabolic rates to actual performance data collected in the fieldthis summer.
...more
13min
July 03, 2025 VIMS Day 3: The Science of Stress and Survival
...more
7min
July 02, 2025 Oysters on the table
...more
0min
July 02, 2025 VIMS Day 2: Oysters Speak
...more
7min
July 01, 2025 Evolving Fish: The Digital Blueprint Revolution
...more
4min
July 01, 2025 Blue Notes and Bivalves: Measuring Metabolism in Oysters
...more
4min
July 01, 2025 VIMS Day One: Insights from Temperature Trials
...more
8min
July 01, 2025 VIMS Day One: Insights from Temperature Trials
...more
8min
June 26, 2025 Oyster Metabolism: The Impact of Mechanical Stress Unveiled
...more
8min

FAQs about Gene Pooling:

How many episodes does Gene Pooling have?

The podcast currently has 91 episodes available.