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Whatman sheet sampling instructions for Parent Age Based Tagging (PBT) at hatcheries

PBT uses genetic markers to identify progeny back to hatchery of origin and brood year. It requires complete genotyping of a hatcheries brood stock to allow progeny produced by the hatchery to be identified back to the brood cross. It is critical that ALL hatchery broodstock be sampled where males and females are sampled onto separate Whatman sheets. Please do not sample mortalities or discards. Recording individual crosses is useful for PBT analysis however, sampling date is essential to restrict the number of potential crosses.  Please contact the Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo for standardized Whatman sampling sheets.

The sampling procedure for the Whatman sheets involves taking a single sample from each fish at the thinnest part of the adipose fin (preferred) or anal fin using a standard paper punch.  It is important to wipe down the tissue site on the fish prior to sampling.  This reduces cross-contamination caused by the slime between fish. Ensure that you take the sample from the thinnest part of the adipose fin. It is also important to rinse the sampling tools between fish to avoid contamination. 

The sample should be placed in the centre of each of the squares printed on the paper.  The paper will absorb all the water in the tissue sample causing it to adhere to the paper. For the best results, the tissue must be applied immediately after the punch is taken.  To restrict cross-contamination, try not to get too much liquid (slime) on the sheet or allow any liquid to run between squares.  Keep the sheet as dry as possible and avoid bending which might cause the samples to fall off.

Once the paper is completely dry it can be gently placed in the provided sleeves with wax paper covering the samples.  This can then be placed in padded or stay-flat envelopes and shipped to our lab using regular mail.  Please ensure the hatchery, species, stock, sampling date, and sex (as well as any other pertinent information) is completed on the Whatman Sheet.

Contact us

Molecular Genetic Laboratory

Pacific Biological Station
3190 Hammond Bay Road
Nanaimo, BC V9T 6N7
Telephone:

John Candy:

Liane Stenhouse:

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