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Add To Calendar 23/09/2025 17:00:0023/09/2025 17:15:00Europe/ViennaAquaculture Europe 2025INFLUENCE OF PLOIDY AND GROWTH PHENOTYPE ON THERMAL STRESS RESPONSES IN Mytilus edulisSC 1+2, VCC - Floor 1The European Aquaculture Societywebmaster@aquaeas.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYaaVZHLXMfzTRLzDrHmAi181982

INFLUENCE OF PLOIDY AND GROWTH PHENOTYPE ON THERMAL STRESS RESPONSES IN Mytilus edulis

Flavie Perron*, Eric H. Ignatz ,  Rebecca Lawson, Hugo Flávio ,  Tiago  S. Hori and Ram?n Filgueira

 

Department of Biology , Dalhousie University , 6299 South Street, Halifax, B3H 4R2 (Canada),

 E-mail: Flavie.Perron@dal.ca



Mussels (Mytilus edulis)  can show wide growth variability, even among same-aged individuals reared under similar conditions . Triploid y can influence growth rates as energy  can be diverted  from reproduction to somatic growth. Furthermore, the response  of triploid mussels  to heat stress remains poorly understood. This study investigated how growth phenotype (i.e., slow versus fast growers) and ploidy (i.e., diploids versus triploids) influence the response of mussels  to thermal stress.  Within each ploidy group, slow and fast growers (bottom and top 20% by size) were  characterized across three mussel families. Each family was tested separately, where mussels were placed in individual respirometry chambers  and exposed to thermal stress starting at an acclimation temperature of 18°C . The temperature was increased by 2°C every three days until it reached  a sub-lethal temperature of  26°C. Shell lengths were measured at the start and end of the experiment, while feeding rates were assessed at 18, 22, and 26°C , and respiration rates  were measured continually every 2h. Throughout the experiment, samples were collected for genotyping, RNA-sequencing, metabolomics, gill histology, and flow cytometry.  This study aims to better understand how growth phenotype and ploidy influence mussel responses to  thermal stress, with potential applications in mussel aquaculture through the selection of resilient growth lines.