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Genetic Parameter Estimation of White Spot Traits in the Carapace of Swimming Crab Portunus trituberculatus
by
, and
Jiahui Liu
1,2,3,
Ouwen Shi
1,2,3,
Shaokun Lu
1,2,3,
Ronghua Li
1,2,3,*,
Jianyu Xu
4,
Hao Cui
1,2,3,
Run Tong
1,2,3,
Chunlin Wang
1,2,3,
Changkao Mu
1,2,3,
Weiwei Song
1,2,3 and
Ce Shi
1,2,3 1
Key Laboratory of Aquacultral Biotechnology, Ningbo University, Chinese Ministry of Education, Ningbo 315211, China
2
Collaborative Innovation Center for Zhejiang Marine High-Efficiency and Healthy Aquaculture, Ningbo 315211, China
3
Key Laboratory of Green Mariculture (Co-Construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural, Ningbo 315211, China
4
Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2026, 16(14), 2123; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16142123
Submission received: 6 May 2026
/
Revised: 29 June 2026
/
Accepted: 4 July 2026
/
Published: 8 July 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Animal Genetics and Genomics)
Simple Summary
Swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus) is an important marine economic crustacean widely distributed along the coastal regions of East and Southeast Asia, and it is also a significant aquaculture species in China. The distribution of white spots on the shell is one of the remarkable characteristics of the appearance of P. trituberculatus, but there have been no reports on its characterization and genetic analysis. This study extracted white spot characteristics using computer vision and estimated their genetic parameters based on an animal model. Our results showed that all white spot traits exhibit continuous variation. Certain traits exhibit moderate heritability (e.g., 0.30 for white spot number). The genetic correlation between some of the white spot traits and growth-related traits was significantly positive (e.g., the genetic correlation between the white spot area and the carapace area was 0.92), indicating that selection for one of these traits would result in the improvement of others. This study presents the first estimation of characteristics and genetic parameters of the white spot traits of P. trituberculatus, which also demonstrates that selection for growth-related traits can be conducted through visual assessment.
Abstract
The distribution of white spots on the shell is one of the remarkable characteristics of the appearance of Portunus trituberculatus, but there have been no reports on its characteristics and genetic analysis. In this study, seven parameters of white spots were extracted based on computer vision, including white spot number (WSN), white spot area (WSA), white spot regional area (WSRA), percentage of white spot area (PWSA), percentage of white spot regional area (PWSRA), white spot number of white spot regional area (WSNRA), and white spot number of carapace area (WSNCA). Using 22 full-sib families, we estimated genetic parameters of these white spot traits and their genetic correlations with growth carapace area (CA). Results demonstrated that these parameters exhibit continuous variation, but the performance of these white spot indicators was not consistent. Based on comprehensive principal component analysis (PCA), they could be categorized into three distinct groups within the full-sib families. The heritability estimated under the animal model ranged from 0.00 to 0.35 for white spot traits and was 0.18 for CA. Most white spot traits showed low to moderate heritability. The genetic correlations among WSN, WSA, WSRA, PWSA, and CA were significantly positive, indicating that selection for one of these traits would result in the improvement of others. This study presents the first estimation of characteristics and genetic parameters of white spot traits of P. trituberculatus, providing valuable information for understanding these traits and facilitating the optimization of breeding strategies for this species.
