Breeding work in common carp in the Czech Republic:
recapitulation of last 15 years and future prospects
Authors: Martin Prchal, Martin Flajšhans, David Gela,
Vojtěch Kašpar, Marek Rodina, Otomar Linhart, Martin Kocour
Content
• Current status of common carp
• Crossbreeding
• Selective breeding
• Future prospects in breeding work
Current status of common carp
• Total production: over 4,000,000 tons – 70 % China (FAO, 2013)
• European production: 145,000 tons (FAO, 2013)
• Czech production: 17,833 tons – 88 % of all market fish (Czech fish farmers
association, 2014)
• Fish prices: stagnation or slow growth
• Total costs: significant growth
The aim of carp breeding
• To improve important performance traits (especially growth, survival and
slaughtering of edible body parts)
• Thus, intensive research on crossbreeding and selective breeding of common
carp has been done in the last 15 years in the Czech Republic
Crossbreeding
Diallel crossing
Top-crossing
Combinative crossing
Crossbreeding
• Genetic improvement in common carp is based on crossbreeding
• Non–additive genetic variance is used to display heterosis effect – when
genetically distant breeds of carp are crossed together
• Since 2000, the system of performance testing of carp hybrids has been set up in
the Czech Republic (top-crossing – one purebred, 3 crossbreeds)
Crossbreeding among breeds/populations of Cyprinus carpio (European
breeds of carps) and Cyprinus rubrofuscus (Amur wild carp or breeds
established of it) likely ensure good heterosis – higher performance.
1,6
Genetic distance (DA)
1,4
1,2
1,0
y = 0,0135x + 0,6061
R² = 0,2693
(R = 0,5189, P = 0,0111)
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0,0
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Heterosis effect of live weight at market size
(%)
1,6
Genetic distance (DA)
1,4
y = 0,0082x + 0,7095
R² = 0,026
(R = 0,1612, P = 0,2843)
1,2
1,0
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0,0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Cumulative survival during testing (%)
Crossbreeding
• Crossbreeding has been used for establishing new strains or breeds as well
• The great results in traits of interest and even in resistance to KHV (Amur mirror
carp)
Northern mirror carp – M72
Amur mirror carp – Vodňany line
Selective breeding
Atlantic salmon (Gjerde and Korsvoll 1999)
Tilapia, GIFT (Eknath and Acosta, 1998)
Rainbow trout, linie NL (Chevassus at al.,2004)
Rainbow trout, linie SY (Vandeputte et al.,2002)
Coho salmon (Hershberger at al.,1990)
Tilapia, FAC (Bolivar and Newkirk, 2002)
Genetic level for growth
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
0
5
10
15
Years of selective breeding
20
25
Trait
h2(±S.D.)
Age
References
Heritability estimates
8 weeks
0.33±0.07
Vandeputte et al. (2004)
1 summer
0.32±0.03
Vandeputte et al. (2008)
1 spring
0.29±0.03
Vandeputte et al. (2008)
2 summer
0.46±0.04
Vandeputte et al. (2008)
3 grow. seasons
0.70±0.08
Kocour et al. (2007)
mean % fat
3 grow. seasons
0.58±0.09
Kocour et al. (2007)
rel. head length
3 grow. seasons
0.54±0.12
Kocour et al. (2007)
weight
Selective breeding in common carp
Genetic correlation estimates
weight - %
processed body
weight - % fillet
with skin
3 grow. seasons
rA = 0.74±0.12
Kocour et al. (2007)
3 grow.experiment
seasons
r = 0.43±0.05
al. (2007)
 Unsuccessful mass selection
for growth Kocour etselective
breeding for
weight - mean % fat
3 grow. seasons
r = 0.59±0.14
Kocour et al. (2007)
growth rate has
not been applied
for commercial
purposes
in common carp so far
A
A
rel. head length - %
fillet yields
3 grow. seasons
rA = - 0.83-0.86±0.06
Kocour et al. (2007)
 However, recent selective breeding experiments in common carp in the Czech
Republic
moderate to high heritabilities and interesting genetic corelations
WHY???
1. The experimental population: full factorial crossing
2. All families were cultured in the same pond conditions (parentage assignment)
Modern breeding in common carp = SELECTIVE BREEDING
Future prospects in breeding work
1. Crossbreeding – the system of performance testing to identify new perspective
hybrids is continuing (hybrids with Pohorelice mirror carp are tested: 2015-2017)
2. Selective breeding – is not presently applied in enhancing of performance traits in
common carp
• FISHBOOST European project (FFPW + Klatovy fishery): boosting
European aquaculture by advancing selective breeding to the next levels for six
main finfish species
 to estimate genetic parameters of important quantitative traits (growth, yield of edible parts,
resistance to KHV, winter survival of yearlings
 to identify nonlethal indirect selection criteria for fillet yield
 to evaluate genetic relationships between disease resistance and production trait
 to develop appropriate statistical models
 to assess producer perception of selective breeding
 to evaluate the economic impact of next level selective breeding methods in carp farming
• Several experiments have been running (resistance to KHV, survival during
overwintering, estimation of production traits)
• Experimental population: partly factorial design (20 females and 40 males)
• All families = the same pond condition in repetions
• Altogether 5000 individuals = molecular pedigree (parentage assignment)
Thank you for your attention
We acknowledge the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic for
financing of projects CENAKVA (CZ.1.05/2.1.00/01.0024), CENAKVA II (LO1205 in the
frame of NPU I programme), EU commission for financing of project FISHBOOST (FP7 –
613611) and Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia for financing of project no.
114/2013/Z and no. 059/2015/Z.