Distribution of Temperature Tolerance Quantitative Trait Loci in Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus) and Inferred Homologies in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

We searched for quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting upper temperature tolerance (UTT) in crosses between the Nauyuk Lake and Fraser River strains of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) using survival analysis. Two QTL were detected by using two microsatellite markers after correcting for experiment-wide error. A comparative mapping approach localized these two QTL to homologous linkage groups containing UTT QTL in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Additional marginal associations were detected in several families in regions homologous to those with QTL in rainbow trout. Thus, the genes underlying UTT QTL may antedate the divergence of these two species, which occurred by ∼16 MYA. The data also indicate that one pair of homeologs (ancestrally duplicated chromosomal segments) have contained QTL in Arctic charr since the evolution of salmonids from a tetraploid ancestor 25-100 MYA. This study represents one of the first examples of comparative QTL mapping in an animal polyploid group and illustrates the fate of QTL after genome duplication and reorganization.