The shell color polymorphism widely exists in economic shellfish, which not only results in a better visual perception but also shows great value as an economic trait for breeding. Small numbers of reddish-orange shell Yesso scallops, Patinopecten yessoensis, were found in cultured populations compared to the brown majority. In this study, a genome-wide association study was conducted to understand the genetic basis of shell color. Sixty-six 2b-RAD libraries with equal numbers of reddish-orange and brown shell individuals were constructed and sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. A total of 322,332,684 high-quality reads were obtained, and the average sequencing depth was 18.4×. One genomic region on chromosome 11 that included 239 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was identified as significantly associated with shell color. After verification by high-resolution melting in another population, two SNPs were selected as specific loci for reddish-orange shell color. These two SNPs could be used to improve the selective breeding progress of true-breeding strains with complete reddish-orange scallops. In addition, within the significantly associated genomic region, candidate genes were identified using marker sequences to search the draft genome of Yesso scallop. Three genes (LDLR, FRIS, and FRIY) with known functions in carotenoid metabolism were identified. Further study using high-performance liquid chromatography proved that the relative level of carotenoids in the reddish-orange shells was 40 times higher than that in the brown shells. These results suggested that the accumulation of carotenoids contributes to the formation of reddish-orange shells.
Keywords: Candidate gene; Carotenoid; GWAS; SNP; Shell color; Yesso scallop.