Use of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) for the rapid compositional analysis of di-, tri-, and tetraploid eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica)

The oyster aquaculture industry in the USA, especially the Chesapeake Bay, has shown rapid growth over the last decade. Breeding has played a large role in this growth in the Chesapeake Bay, with emphasis on the selection for disease resistance, growth and the development of triploid Crassostrea virginica. With major gains realized in both of these traits, we are attempting to add more, such as, compositional traits. A specific interest for the Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center is to derive compositional data for use with our selective breeding program. Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) estimates of moisture and glycogen may lead to the definition of these new traits for selection to accompany those traditional measures of survival, meat yield, and growth rate. This study describes the development of NIRS models to estimate moisture and glycogen in the eastern oyster C. virginica. NIR spectra of 138 homogenized oyster meats were modeled against physicochemically measured moisture and glycogen data. The robustness of resulting models was assessed by an independent validation that showed a high coefficient of determination for validation (R2val = 0.95) and high residual predictive deviation (RPD ≥ 4.1) for both parameters, making them suitable for quantification. In a second step, these models have also been validated to obtain compositional data on different levels of ploidy in C. virginica (diploid, triploid, and tetraploid). These parameters will be applied to our family based selection program where heritabilities will be calculated. For the first time we have developed NIRS models to determine compositional analysis in C. virginica. NIRS estimates of moisture and glycogen may lead to the definition of new traits for selection to accompany other traditional measures (survival, meat yield, and growth rate). NIRS measurements will be applied to our family based selection program where heritabilities will be calculated.