Shrimp Genetic Improvement Research Team

BIOTEC

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Shrimp Genetic Improvement Research Team

The Shrimp Genetic Improvement Center (SGIC) was founded under a cooperation of three Thai governmental institutes: Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation represented by the National Center for GeneticEngineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) National Science and Technology Development Agency, Prince of Songkla University and Mahidol University. The center provides research and production facilities for the selective breeding program of the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon, and is set to become the “Nucleus Breeding Center (NBC)” of this highly economic and indigenous species of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. As a NBC, SGIC rears different families for P. monodon, from nauplius stage to broodstock. These families are cross-breed to provide new generations of shrimp that show improved growth rate, disease resistance, and other industrially required traits. The shrimp (F1) are specific pathogen-free (SPF), and are generated from offspring (F0) of wild (W) broodstocks, kept in a quarantine located outside SGIC. From the NBC, postlarvae (PL) of two selected families are sent to the Broodstock Multiplication Center (BMC), which is also located outside SGIC. The PLs are reared in the BMC to become broodstocks, which are cross-breed to provide nauplii and PLs for shrimp farmers.

General Objectives

- To stock and cross-breed different families of P. monodon and other tropical shrimp species

- To provide SPF P. monodon broodstocks with favorable traits, such as high growth rate, disease resistance, etc. to the shrimp industry

- To provide research facilities for higher education in tropical shrimp species

Services Provided

SGIC collaborates with several academic institutes in Thailand as well as abroad, from both governmental and private sectors. It aims to be a place for free communication among academic researchers at one end, and among shrimp farmers at the other. Attempts are carried out to bridge the gap between the two ends, to install “application insight” into academics and to guide traditional shrimp farmers toward cleaner, more profitable and update technologies.

Technology Transfer

Seminars for shrimp farmers and personnel involved in the industry are held regularly at SGIC and relevant farm sites. Communication between SGIC and end-users are essential for development of the center. SGIC aims to exceed in academic excellence and to collaborate with local farmers for a higher understanding in shrimp cultivation. SGIC also provides site visits and training to local farmers on a regular basis.

Services

SGIC provides many services, which include training for farmers, academic research, seminars and staff training. Other services such as water quality determinations or shrimp disease diagnostics by histology or PCR etc. are available at several other institutes that perform equally well for farmers.

• Detection of shrimp viral infections by DNA-based technologies (conventional, nested and real-time PCR)
• Biosecurity system of shrimp rearing
• Artificial insemination
• Genomic identification of shrimp families using microsatellite marking and other methods
• Expressed Sequence Tag (EST)
• Cryopreservation of sperm, eggs and nauplii
• Traceability technology