Autotetraploid Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) obtained using normal diploid eggs: induction and impact on cytogenetic stability.

We describe two methods of producing viable and fertile autotetraploid Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas Thunberg) based on the use of normal-sized oocytes produced by normal diploid females. Our methods showed that the oocyte size is not a limiting factor for the success of the induction to autotetraploidy. These methods offer means of direct introgression of genetic progress from elite diploid lines to tetraploids used as broodstock, avoiding a triploid step with the risk of transferring undesirable traits from highly fecund triploids. High variability in the level of cytogenetic stability was found among the different tetraploid oysters tested, showing that induction method has an important impact on the long-term cytogenetic stability of the tetraploids. It appears that induction method based on the use of triploid females induces a greater cytogenetic instability among tetraploids so obtained, and this compared to tetraploids originating from the two methods described in our present study. As the aneuploidies and reversions observed in tetraploids can have serious consequences for the sustainability of tetraploid broodstock itself, as well as their triploid offspring, the two tetraploid induction methods described in the present work offer means to produce tetraploids with optimal cytogenetic, genetic, and zootechnical performances.