{"doi":"10.33915/etd.13043","title":"From Sequencing to Conservation: Genomic Analysis of Three Sportfish Species in West Virginia","abstract":"Situated in the Appalachian Mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth, West Virginia waters boast rich ichthyofauna including native sportfish species walleye (Sander vitreus), largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans), and muskellunge (Esox masquinongy). These three species are all native to the contemporary Ohio River watershed and play a major recreational and ecological role in local fisheries. Ecologically, all three species are apex predators and play a key role in ecosystems by directly influencing local fish assemblages. As dominant apex predators all three species are highly sought after in recreational fisheries with largemouth bass being the most targeted freshwater fish among anglers in the United States, and muskellunge earning the nickname “fish of 10,000 casts” due its elusiveness to angler harvest. Genetic investigations of these sportfish species in West Virginia are limited, with only a handful of previous studies available. Noting a lack of genetic insight into these valuable sportfish species, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) employed significant sampling of sportfish populations throughout the state to establish state-wide genomic baselines to direct future management directives. Using a genotype-by-sequencing double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing protocol, a total of 642 sportfish samples from over 25 populations across the state were sequenced to identify genetically distinct populations, elucidate the impact of stocking non-native ancestry into native populations, quantify genomic diversity, and establish a genetic baseline foundation for each of the three species that can be incorporated into future management directives. Sub-objectives were also investigated for largemouth bass and walleye. Due to angler interest in creating a trophy fishery, Florida bass (Micropterus salmoides) presence and prevalence throughout the state was investigated using a 16 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel that was previously found to be fixed between Florida bass and northern largemouth bass to identify potential candidate populations. A total of 856 largemouth bass from 31 populations across the state were genotyped, along with known Florida bass and putative F1 hybrids to validate the panel. Marker-assisted restoration of native walleye has previously used two microsatellite loci found to be correlative with diagnostic mitochondrial haplotypes of the native Eastern Highlands strain and introduced Great Lake strain. Difficulty with the two loci that displayed questionable diagnostic capability resulted in the need to change protocols and utilize diagnostic SNPs. Walleye of known Great Lakes and Eastern Highlands strain origins were sequenced and 57 fixed SNPs between the two strains were identified, resulting in","journal":null,"year":2025,"id":577392,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9171,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1263854,"name":"Andrew Johnson","orcid":"0000-0002-0814-6093","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:58:04.622308Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}