People | Patrick M. Gaffney

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• B.A., Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, 1973.
• Ph.D., Biological Sciences, SUNY Stony Brook, 1986.

Genetics of marine organisms, emphasizing molecular, population and aquacultural genetics; oyster genomics.

• Development of genetic markers in eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica for breeding programs and genetic mapping of disease-resistance genes.
• Development of nuclear gene markers (SNPs) for genetic mapping and selective breeding in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas.
• Collaborative international effort to develop genomic resources in oysters. Regional cooperative oyster breeding program to develop disease-resistant oysters for aquaculture and fisheries enhancement.
• Use of molecular markers to evaluate oyster enhancement efforts in Chesapeake Bay.
• Population genetics of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides, a.k.a. Chilean sea bass), a key Southern Ocean species threatened by unregulated international overharvesting.
• Population genetics of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus

Skye Schmidt, Ph.D. Student, Marine Biosciences (B.S., Southampton College, 2003). Research Interests: Environmental genomics of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus.

Robin Varney, Ph.D. Student, Marine Biology-Biochemisty (M.S., University of South Carolina, 2004). Research interests: Population genetics of oysters.

Statistics for Marine Sciences, Molecular Tools for Marine Biology, Population Genetics

Kuhn, KL, and PM Gaffney. 2008. Population subdivision in the Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Antarctic Science (in press).

Ulrich, PN, CM Colton, CA Hoover, PM Gaffney, and AG Marsh. 2007. Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) rDNA detected in oysters from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.  J Shellfish Res 26:195-199.

Gaffney, PM, J Rupnow, and ML Domeier. 2007. Genetic similarity of disjunct populations of the giant sea bass Stereolepis gigas. J Fish Biol 70(Supplement A):111-124.

Gaffney, PM 2006. The role of genetics in shellfish restoration. Aquat Living Resour 19:277-282. 

Kuhn, KL, and PM Gaffney. 2006. Preliminary assessment of population structure in the mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari). Polar Biol 29:927-935.

Valles-Jimenez, R, PM. Gaffney, and R Perez-Enriquez. 2006. RFLP analysis of the mtDNA control region in white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) populations from the eastern Pacific. Mar Biol 148:867-873.

Elfstrom, CM, PM Gaffney, CT Smith, and JE Seeb. 2005. Characterization of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms in the weathervane scallop. Molecular Ecology Notes 5:406-409. [ abstract ]

Hedgecock, D, PM Gaffney, P Goulletquer, X Guo, K Reece, and GW Warr. 2005. The case for sequencing the Pacific oyster genome. J Shellfish Res 24:429-441.

Hoover, CA, and PM Gaffney. 2005. Geographic variation in nuclear genes of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica Gmelin. J Shellfish Res 24:103-112.

Milbury, CA, and PM Gaffney. 2005. Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Marine Biotechnology 7:697-712. [ abstract ]

Smith, PJ, and PM Gaffney. 2005. Low genetic diversity in the Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni observed with mitochondrial and intron DNA markers. CCAMLR Science 12:43-51.

Bayha, KM, GR Harbison, JH McDonald, and PM Gaffney. 2004. Preliminary investigation on the molecular systematics of the invasive ctenophore Beroe ovata . Pp. 167-175 in  HJ Dumont, TA Shiganova and U Niermann, eds. Aquatic Invasions in the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas. KluwerAcademic Publishers, Dordrecht.

Cruz, P, AM Ibarra, H Mejia-Ruiz, PM Gaffney, and R Pérez-Enríquez. 2004. Genetic variability assessed by microsatellites in a breeding program of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Mar Biotech 6:157-164.

Milbury, CA, PM Gaffney, DW Meritt, and RIE. Newell. 2004. Mitochondrial DNA markers allow monitoring of oyster stock enhancement in the Chesapeake Bay. Mar Biol 145:351-359.

Reece, KS, WL Ribeiro, PM Gaffney, RB Carnegie, and SK Allen, Jr. 2004. Microsatellite marker development and analysis in the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) : confirmation of null alleles and non-Mendelian segregation ratios. Journal of Heredity 95:346-352.

Smith, PJ, PM Gaffney, and CD Roberts. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships of the silver trumpeter Latris pacifica  (Teleostei, Percomorpha, Latridae) based on allozymes and mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences. J R Soc NZ 33:755-767.

Gaffney, PM, JC Pierce, AG Mackinlay, DA Titchen, and WK Glenn. 2003. Pearl, a novel family of putative transposable elements in bivalve mollusks. J Mol Evol 56:308-316. [ abstract ]

Gaffney, PM. 2003. Genomic approaches to marker development and mapping in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. pp 84-91 in: Shimizu, N. et al. (eds) Aquatic Genomics Steps Towards a Great Future. Springer-Verlag, Tokyo. [ abstract ]

Smith, PJ, PJ McMillan, B Bull, SM McVeagh, PM Gaffney, and S Chow. 2002. Genetic and meristic variation in black and smooth oreos in the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 36:737-750.

Smith, PJ, PM Gaffney and M Purves. 2001. Genetic markers for identification of Patagonian toothfish and Antarctic toothfish. J Fish Biol 58:1190-1194.