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AquAdvantage™
Therapeutic
Products
Shrimp
IMS
Shrimp IMS
is a novel protein-based therapeutic feed additive that stimulates
the natural immune system of shrimp resulting in significantly
enhanced disease resistance. Several years of laboratory evaluations
and controlled disease challenges followed by field trials in
Thailand, Belize, Ecuador and Mexico demonstrated consistent improvements
in survival of farmed shrimp treated with Shrimp IMS. Shrimp IMS
functions by stimulating production of haemocytes, the shrimp’s
first line of defense against invading disease organisms. In fact,
a unique feature of Shrimp IMS that distinguishes it from traditional,
first generation immunostimulants is the ability of the end user
to evaluate its efficacy by quantifying haemocytes in shrimp haemolymph
during the course of the production crop. Empowered with the confidence
that the shrimp’s immune defenses are fortified by IMS, farmers
are able to prolong their production cycles, even in the presence
of disease events, in order to reach the larger, more commercially
lucrative market sizes of shrimp.
A controlled
field trial conducted in 2004 in four commercial shrimp farms
in Mexico convincingly demonstrated to local shrimp farmers the
economic benefits of using of Shrimp IMS. Improvements in final
survival of ponds protected with IMS ranged from 20% to 46% compared
to unprotected ponds across all four farms. This translated to
a ROI of $2.41 for every $1 spent on IMS by the shrimp farmer,
for an average increase in net income to a typical 200 hectare
farm of $136,000 per crop.
Shrimp IMS
is delivered to shrimp in hatcheries via commercial larval feeds
containing IMS, and to shrimp in ponds via readily available pelleted
growout feed containing IMS.
For more information please email: shrimp-products at aquabounty.com
In the Pipeline
VPX
Viral Blocker
VPX Viral Blocker is a protein based therapeutic for shrimp that
prevents infection by the deadly White Spot virus (WSSV) by effectively
blocking entry of the virus into shrimp. WSSV is a catastrophic
shrimp disease that is found in almost every country where shrimp
is farmed, and which has caused economic losses of billions of
dollars in the global shrimp aquaculture industry. The Company
has completed laboratory evaluations of VPX, and is currently
optimizing a manufacturing system in preparation for field trials
in 2006. Laboratory tests with VPX have shown that survival of
VPX protected shrimp challenged with WSSV can approach 100%.
For more information please email: shrimp-products at aquabounty.com
AquAdvantage™
Diagnostics
SYBR
Shrimp Diagnostic Test Kit
 The
SYBR Shrimp test kit is one of the most sensitive shrimp
disease diagnostic and detection kits currently available in the
market place. Using advanced PCR technology, the kit can detect
very low levels of up to five of the most common shrimp viruses
in as little as two hours. Owing to its ability to detect these
viruses at the molecular level, SYBR Shrimp diagnostic
kits can provide producers advanced warning for mitigation of
crop loss through disease management measures, well in advance
of epizootic disease outbreaks. The highly sensitivity nature
of the diagnostic kits lends itself to heightened disease surveillance
in biosecure production systems where even the smallest presence
of disease organisms can reek havoc. SYBR Shrimp diagnostic
kits also provide an excellent complement to both VPX and IMS,
where a positive test kit diagnosis will encourage use of the
therapeutic products in disease management and prevention.
SYBR
Shrimp diagnostic kits are flexibly configured for use with both
traditional PCR and the newer “real time” quantitative
PCR technologies. The latter provides the kit with detection sensitivity
that is enhanced over 100 fold compared with the older technologies.
It also delivers a more precise and measurable estimate of the
pathogen loading in the sample, provides enhanced specificity,
and is particularly useful in the detection of rare targets. In
fact, the SYBR Shrimp kits are the first aquatic diagnostic
tool to work optimally with quantitative PCR. In addition to the
White Spot virus (WSSV), up to four additional viruses that affect
the shrimp farming industry can be detected, with wider target
detection capability.
For more information about SYBR Shrimp diagnostic kits, prices and configurations, or if you would like to place an order email:
kit-info at aquabounty.com
In the Pipeline
Salmon
Therapeutics and Diagnostics
Aqua Bounty
is developing improved variants of two critical salmon vaccines,
a multivalent vaccine for salmon, as well as an antifungal to
protect fish eggs in aquaculture settings. As part of its diagnostics
laboratory development effort, Aqua Bounty is also developing
diagnostics capabilities to detect up to 5 of the most common
diseases in salmon.
AquAdvantage™
Broodstock Program
Aqua Bounty
is also developing advanced-hybrid salmon, trout, and tilapia
broodstock engineered to grow faster than traditional broodstock.
AquAdvantage™ fish
reach market size twice as fast and convert feed into body mass
10% – 30% more efficiently than traditional broodstock. These
improvements provide both a highly compelling economic benefit
to farmers (reduced growing cycle, better feed efficiency) as
well as benefits to the environment from reduced release of waste
products, faster fallowing cycles and potential improvement of
the economic viability of inland operations, thereby mitigating
the need for more environmentally consequential ocean pens. The
fish are also neutered so the threat of interbreeding with native
populations, a major recent concern in salmon farming, is avoided.
As demonstrated
in the growth chart above, the AquAdvantage™ fish
grow faster and reach mature size earlier than standard fish,
but they do not grow to be larger. Mature AquAdvantage™
fish are effectively identical and indistinguishable by the consumer
in all respects to their conventional counterparts.
Ongoing research
is expanding the application of the AquAdvantage™
technology to other finfish and crustaceans and is focused on
identifying other desirable traits such as disease resistance
and cold tolerance. In shrimp, for example, a “forced-selection”
technique has enabled the Company to identify specific genetic
markers that correlate with increased growth rates and good health
of P. stylirostris, a popular white shrimp.
For more information please email: broodstock at aquabounty.com
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