Genetic mapping could help restore prized lake trout in the Great Lakes of USA and Canada and beyond

Scientists have traced the genetic makeup of lake trout, a feat that should boost efforts to rebuild populations of the prized fish in the Great Lakes and other North American waters where they've been hammered by invasive species, overfishing and pollution, officials said Tuesday. U.S. and Canadian researchers completed a reference genome, or digital genetic map, for lake trout. It will help explain characteristics that enabled the species to evolve and spread across its vast range, with certain types becoming better suited to particular locations and depths. The data also will provide vital information for managers of programs that stock lakes with young trout to supplement natural reproduction, said Marc Gaden, spokesman for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a U.S.-Canadian agency that funded the research. “Lake trout are widely distributed across North America, and there are huge variations in habitat use, shape, size, body mass, color," Gaden said. “We need to understand ...