Effects of quantitative traits on abdominal muscle weight of Procambarus clarlii

Effects of quantitative traits on abdominal muscle weight of Procambarus clarlii were studied by multiple regression analysis and path analysis. The results showed that the corresponding path coefficients among the 16 quantitative traits were highly significant. Path and determination effects analysis of quantitative traits on abdominal muscle weight showed that body length was the main effect trait，the direct effect and indirect effect decisions were the highest，the coefficients were 0.314 and 0.0986. The other quantitative traits with insignificant partial regression coefficient were excluded，so the best multiple regression equation，viz. the relation of abdominal muscle weight to body length（X1），abdominal segment length（X6），the third abdominal segment width（X11），the third abdominal segment height（X12），pincers length（X2）and body weight（Y1）was established as Y2 =-2.837+0.023X1+0.051X6 +0.078X11 +0.062X12-0.009X2 +0.02Y1，R2=0.827（P<0.01）. The result indicated that body length was the target trait for selective breeding of P. clarlii.