Relationship between body weight and morphological traits of the backup parents of Channa maculata

【Objective】 To improve the breeding efficiency of Channa maculata parents, it is necessary to clarify the relationship between the body weight and morphological characters.【Method】 In this study, 1165 backup parents of C. maculata were measured, the 10 traits included body weight(Y), full length(X₁), body length(X₂), head length(X₃), mouth length(X₄), eye diameter(X₅), body depth(X₆), body depth at the anus(X₇), tail peduncle length(X₈), tail peduncle depth (X₉). After gender identification using molecular markers, the relationship between body weight and morphological traits was analyzed using variance analysis, correlation analysis, and path analysis for both male and female C. maculata, and and the regression equation of morphological traits on body weight was established using multiple regression analysis.【Result】 The results showed that there were 711 males and 454 females among the 1165 C. maculata. The correlation coefficients between the morphological traits and body weight of male and female C. maculata all reached extremely significant levels(P<0.01, the same below). Path analysis showed that the body length of male C. maculata had the greatest impact on body weight, followed by body height, caudal peduncle height, and body depth at the anus, tail handle length, eye diameter. The body length of female C. maculata had the greatest effect on body weight, followed by body depth at the anus, tail peduncle depth, eye diameter and tail peduncle length. Finally, multiple regression equations were established for male and female C. maculata respectively, that for male was Y=-484.547 + 21.628X₂ + 21.577X₇-130.000X₅+54.475X₉-33.605X₈+32.055X₆, and for female was Y=-503.361+24.994X₂+31.786X₇+56.763X₉-38.272X₈-83.860X₅. After testing, the regression equation reached highly significant level, and the morphological traits of C. maculata were brought into the regression equation to obtain the predicted value. The paired sample T-test analysis between the predicted value and the actual value showed no significant difference(P>0.05), indicating that the regression equation can be used in the breeding and actual production of C. maculata.【Conclusion】 In the production and selection of C. maculata, body weight should be the primary consideration, and the effects of body length, body depth, tail peduncle length and tail peduncle depth should be taken into account in order to obtain individuals with excellent traits.