Participation in the VIII Genomics in Aquaculture Congress (GIA2026)
From May 4-6, 2026, we participated in the VIII Genomics in Aquaculture (GIA 2026) held at Split (Croatia), where we presented our population genomics and transcriptomics results from the CONSIBERTROMICS project. The abstract of our presentation is included below:
Title: Integrative omics analyses reveal genomic differentiation and divergent gene expression across brown trout lineages
Authors: Manuel Vera, Óscar Aramburu, Álvaro Pita, Andrés Blanco, Jordi Morata, Dorte Bekkevold, Sandra Heras, Alba Abras, María Inés Roldán, David Díez-del-Molino, José Luis García-Marín.
Brown trout (Salmo trutta) exhibits a complex phylogeographic structure shaped by historical isolation, local adaptation, and extensive stocking with Central European hatchery strains, which has promoted variable levels of genetic introgression into native populations. In this study, we combined whole-genome sequencing with RNA-seq analyses to examine genomic differentiation and gene expression divergence between native Iberian lineages and hatchery-derived stocks. Genomic analyses revealed strong lineage-specific structure, finding some slight differences between mitochondrial and nuclear analyses in populations showing signatures of hybridization. Transcriptomic analyses performed on captive-reared descendants of native fish and hatchery stocks maintained under similar rearing conditions showed pronounced differences in gene expression profiles at different developmental stages (i.e., larvae, 0+ and 1+). These differences persisted despite identical environmental conditions, suggesting heritable gene expression divergence among lineages. Differentially expressed genes were primarily associated with catabolism, immune system, responses for stimuli and stress, cell communication, metabolism and energy production, pointing to contrasting functional strategies linked to their evolutionary backgrounds and to long-term exposure to either natural or hatchery environments. These results provide robust integrative omics evidence for substantial genomic and functional divergence among brown trout lineages and demonstrate that native lineages retain distinct, biologically meaningful adaptive potential. From a management and aquaculture perspective, our findings highlight that reinforcement programs and the development of broodstocks should prioritize native populations, as they harbor lineage-specific traits relevant for resilience and long-term population sustainability. This work underscores the importance of incorporating genomic and transcriptomic information into evidence-based strategies for conserving and managing Salmo trutta stocks.
