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Identification, comparison of genetic diversity, heat tolerance, and growth performance among Micropterus salmoides salmoides, Micropterus salmoides floridanus, and their reciprocal hybrids

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Abstract

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is an important freshwater fish species in China. However, it exhibits reduced growth performance and declined disease resistance under high temperatures. In this study, crosses between the rapid growing “Youlu No.3” (M. salmoides salmoides, NB) and the heat-tolerant but slower-growing M. s. floridanus (FB) were conducted. Based on previously developed InDel markers, a new pair of mitochondrial DNA primers were developed to distinguish the reciprocal hybrids for the first time. The hybrid offspring of NB♀× FB♂ (NF) exhibited mitochondrial sequences consistent with NB, while hybrid offspring of FB♀× NB♂ (FN) matched with FB. Genetic diversity analysis by seven fluorescence-labeled microsatellite markers revealed that both hybrid offsprings (NF and FN) showed higher values in terms of number of alleles (Na), effective number of alleles (Ne), Shannon’s diversity index (I*), observed heterozygosity (Ho), and expected heterozygosity (He) compared to the NB population. Through acute heat stress ranging from 35 ℃ to 41 ℃, it was found that the median lethal temperatures (LT₅₀) for NB, NF, FN, and FB populations were 37.25 ℃, 38.45℃, 39.02℃, and 39.15 ℃, respectively. Under chronic heat stress for seven weeks, the FN hybrids demonstrated significantly higher survival and average growth rates at 34 ℃ than the NF hybrids. Specifically, the performance of the FN hybrids at 34 ℃ surpassed that of the NB population at 32.3 ℃ by 13.44% in survival rate and by 30.14% in growth rate. In pond culture, the NB population grew the fastest. By 9 and 10 months of age, the growth performances of FN and NF hybrids were reduced by approximately 10% and 36–70%, respectively, relative to the NB population. These results indicated that hybridization can effectively enhance heat tolerance and genetic diversity in largemouth bass. The cross of FB♀× NB♂ proved to be the better favorable combination. This study provides useful information for the development of varieties with enhanced heat tolerance in the future.

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Data availability

The mitochondrial DNA sequences generated and analysed during this study are available in the GenBank repository under accession numbers [PX907593~ PX907596].

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Funding

This study was funded by the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS (2025SJHX5, 2024JC0107, and 2023TD95), National Natural Science Foundation of China (32403013), and Special-funds Project for Rural Revitalization Strategy of Guangdong Province (2024SPY00003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fishery Resource Application and Cultivation, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences, Guangzhou, 510380, China

    Jinxing Du, Wenhui Lou, Tao Zhu, Hongmei Song, Caixia Lei, Jing Tian & Shengjie Li

  2. College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Wenhui Lou

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  1. Jinxing Du
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  2. Wenhui Lou
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  3. Tao Zhu
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  4. Hongmei Song
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  5. Caixia Lei
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  6. Jing Tian
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  7. Shengjie Li
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Contributions

J. Du conceptualized the project, acquired funding, designed and conducted the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. W. Lou collected the samples, performed the experiments, and analyzed the data. T. Zhu, H. Song, C. Lei, and J. Tian. helped in collecting the samples. S. L. conceptualized the project, acquired funding, supervised the study, and modified the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to
Shengjie Li.

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Du, J., Lou, W., Zhu, T. et al. Identification, comparison of genetic diversity, heat tolerance, and growth performance among Micropterus salmoides salmoides, Micropterus salmoides floridanus, and their reciprocal hybrids.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45526-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45526-w

Keywords

  • Largemouth bass
  • Hybridization
  • Identification
  • Heat tolerance
  • Growth

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