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Researchers at Dalhousie University and several U.S. institutes have published the first complete genome sequence for the American lobster, yielding critical insight into the lucrative species that can both improve sustainability and help predict how it responds to climate change.

The genome sequence will serve as a valuable resource for fisheries, ecology and biomedical research, especially in understanding complex traits including susceptibility to disease and the ability to cope with environmental change.

Dr. Fraser Clark, a molecular immunologist in Dalhousie’s Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, worked with researchers from Johns Hopkins University, University of Florida, University of Prince Edward Island, Tufts University and Harvard University. Their findings were published recently in Science Advances.

The team did stress tests on the lobsters and then took RNA samples from them, producing a vast amount of data that could be analyzed to reveal how the lobsters respond to the tests. In one trial, researchers looked at how they responded to being stored in a simulated holding facility for various periods of time. 

Dr. Clark is available to discuss how this new information can reveal how the lobsters are affected by various stressors, such as ocean acidification, climate change, transportation, time in holding and disease.

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Media contact:
Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca