Establishment of families and their early growth of Japanese scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis)

Thirty-three full-sib families of the Japanese scallops Patinopecten yessoensis were established using artificial insemination (1♂ : 3♀) in May 2006. The phenotype characters (shell length, shell height, shell width, wet weight) of scallops were measured at 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 months old. The data was analyzed using Excel and SPSS 13.0 software. The results showed that significant differences were found between different characters in different families at different growth stages. Among contemporary families, Nos. 06S-1, 06S-24 and 06S-25 grew fast in shell height, and Nos. 06S-1, 06S-25, 06S-18 and 06S-30 fast in body weight. Compared to these families, Nos. 06S-2, 06S-12 and 06S-21 had an obvious disadvantage in shell height, and Nos. 06S-2, 06S-5 and 06S-32 disadvantage in body weight. The order of monthly increase of shell height was similar to that in body weight in 33 families. According to the comparison above, Nos. 06S-24, 06S-25, 06S-30, 06S-1 and 06S-18 showed better in growth performance and Nos. 06S-2 and 06S-5 poor in growth traits. Obviously, significant differences in growth traits meant rich genetic resources. This program has provided some animals for further selective breeding in the future.