Resistance of genetically different common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., families against experimental bacterial challenge with Aeromonas hydrophila

The objective of this study was to determine the differences in disease resistance against artificial infection with Aeromonas hydrophila between genetically different common carp families. Four strains differing in their origin and breeding history were selected from the live gene bank of common carp maintained at the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI, Szarvas, Hungary) to establish families with wide genetic background: Szarvas 15 (15), an inbred mirror line; Tata (T) scaly noble carp; Duna (D), a Hungarian wild carp and Amur (A), an East Asian wild carp. A diallele mating structure was used to allow the assessment of genetic variation within and between the tested 96 families for a variety of traits. The existing technologies of fertilization and incubation of carp eggs, as well as larval and fingerling rearing had been modified because of the large number of baseline populations. Two challenge trials of the 96 families of carp with Aeromonas hydrophila were done. The 10 most resistant and 10 most susceptible families to A. hydrophila were identified from these two challenges. The crosses that produced the most resistant families were mainly those having parents from Tata and Szarvas 15 domesticated strains, while the most susceptible families were from the wild strains Duna and Amur.