Future directions in breeding for disease resistance in aquaculture species

ABSTRACT Infectious disease is a major constraint for all species produced via aquaculture. The majority of farmed fish and shellfish production is based on stocks with limited or no selective breeding. Since disease resistance is almost universally heritable, there is huge potential to select for improved resistance to key diseases. This short review discusses the current methods of breeding more resistant aquaculture stocks, with success stories and current bottlenecks highlighted. The current implementation of genomic selection in breeding for disease resistance and routes to wider-scale implementation and improvement in aquaculture are discussed. Future directions are highlighted, including the potential of genome editing tools for mapping causative variation underlying disease resistance traits and for breeding aquaculture animals with enhanced resistance to disease.