Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis of stage-specific inbreeding depression in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

Plough, L. V., and D. Hedgecock. 2011. Genome-wide analysis of stage-specific inbreeding depression in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Genetics 189:1-14.

This paper, drawn from Louis Plough’s Ph.D. dissertation, provides dramatic documentation for a large number of highly deleterious mutations in the Pacific oyster. These mutations are expressed during the larval stages, particularly during metamorphosis, resulting in genotype-dependent mortality that amounts to ~96% of starting numbers (fertilized eggs). This research was supported by a grant from the NSF.