Journal article
Evidence of a genomic basis for growth rate variation in a natural kelp population
Scientific reports, Vol.16(1), pp.1-12
29/01/2026
PMID: 41611790
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Abstract
Understanding the genetic architecture of functional traits can provide key insights into the ecological dynamics and adaptive potential of species. We investigated whether genetic data can predict growth rate variation in a natural population of the widespread kelp, Ecklonia radiata. We tagged kelps and tracked their growth in situ over spring when growth is maximal. Individual kelps were then genotyped using reduced representation sequencing (ddRAD) and we employed multiple approaches to assess whether genetic variation corresponded with growth rate variation. Despite a limited sample size, we found evidence that growth rate can be strongly predicted from genetic variation, with approximately half of the variation in growth rate predicted by only 18 loci (R 2 = 0.499). Leveraging published transcriptomic data, we confirm that most of these loci are expressed or are linked to expressed putative genes. However, many of these genes are of unknown function and do not match well-known gene families. These findings have important implications for understanding natural kelp forest dynamics and for applied approaches such as selective breeding and aquaculture. While our study offers an important first assessment of the possible genomic architecture underlying growth rate in E. radiata, future work is needed to confirm this apparent link between genetic and functional variation.
Details
- Title
- Evidence of a genomic basis for growth rate variation in a natural kelp population
- Creators
- Samuel Starko - University of Western AustraliaCelina Burkholz - University of Western AustraliaJane M Edgeloe - University of Western AustraliaDavid Wheeler - NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Australia, Coffs Harbour)Karen Filbee-Dexter - University of Western AustraliaJacqueline Batley - University of Western AustraliaAntoine J P Minne - University of Western AustraliaMelinda A Coleman - University of Western AustraliaThomas Wernberg - University of Western Australia
- Publication Details
- Scientific reports, Vol.16(1), pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Nature
- Grant note
- Open access funding provided by Institute Of Marine Research.
- Identifiers
- 991013349773402368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2026.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article