Induction of a New Hybrid between Haliotis gigantea Gmelin female and H. discus discus Reeve male

摘要

Viable interspecific hybrids between the abalone Haliotis gigantea Gmelin and Haliotis discus discus Reeve were produced by artificially inseminating H. gigantea eggs with H. discus discus sperm. Past attempts to perform this reciprocal cross have never been successful. The fertilizing ability and hatchability of the hybrids were compared to those of the parental crosses. The hybrid had higher initial mortality at 100 days post-hatch. The shell length growth rate and body weight of the hybrids were significantly higher than those of the parental genotypes at 10 and 13 months post-hatch (P<0.05). The hybrid abalone had a chromosome number of 2n = 36 and its idiogram was similar to those of the parental species. The hybrid possessed a cellular DNA content of 3.33 pg cell~(-1), which was similar to those of the parental species. At the age of 4 years, hybrid individuals of both sexes had well-developed gonads similar to those of H. gigantea and H. discus discus individuals of the same age. In order tounderstand the reproductive ability of the hybrid abalone, further research is needed on the formation of FI hybrid abalone using sperm and egg originating from the hybrids.