Genotype-By-Sequencing for Parentage Analysis and Population Structure of the Polyploid Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in a Large Manitoba Watershed

The increasing accessibility of new sequencing technologies has opened up many new avenues for conservation research by allowing the interrogation of the whole genome, allowing virtually all species to go genomic. Traditional genetic markers studies using microsatellite loci on lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) from a large watershed system in Manitoba detected subtle genetic structure due to a number of factors including: possible pronounced dispersal within river, year‐round riverine residence, barriers to upstream movement, historical asymmetric (downstream) gene flow, “learned” spawning site fidelity, and disproportionate contributions of individual spawners to subsequent year‐classes. Here, we highlight how over a period of a few months, we used cloud computing and genotyping by sequencing (GBS) on 1000 sturgeons to discover and characterize more than 5000 SNP for fine scale genetic structure. Furthermore, to investigate the usefulness of GBS to resolve mating success and relationship of five fish cohorts, we tested our workflow on 4 families (n=204). Increasing our understanding of lake sturgeon population genetic structure is paramount to assist the recovery strategies of this important species.