We are AquaIMPACT: Savon Taimen – Rainbow trout genomics for fish disease research

Savon Taimen, established in 1967, is a leading Finnish fingerling provider of rainbow trout. Savon Taimen and its subsidiaries form a group of fish farming companies producing salmonid fingerlings for aquaculture and for re-stocking purposes. The group of companies consists of two parent companies. Hanka-Taimen Oy and its subsidiaries are specialised in hatchery operations and fingerling and smolt production. Savon Taimen Oy and its subsidiaries focus on fry production and …

We are AquaIMPACT: The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh – Advanced technology for genomic selection

The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh (UEDIN) undertakes basic and applied research focused on the genetics and health of farmed animal species, developing biotechnological innovations for the livestock and aquaculture industry. The active and expanding Roslin Aquaculture Genetics research group aims to improve selective breeding of finfish and shellfish via a broad range of genetics and genomics approaches. The Roslin Institute is equipped with state-of-the-art genomics and bioinformatics …

Implementing genomic selection in aquaculture industry: Reducing genotyping costs by low-density genotyping panels

Our result shows that genomic selection can be accurately implemented with much lower number of SNP markers than is currently available by many genotyping services. This was demonstrated by genomic evaluations of survival against infection of Flavobacterium columnare bacteria in rainbow trout. The creation of SNP panels consisting of 3,000-7,000 informative SNPs would be one way to reduce genotyping costs and to adopt genomic selection in more broodstocks worldwide.   …

We are AquaIMPACT: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) – Project coordination and genetic improvements in breeding

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) is a non-profit public research organisation operating under the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Luke is the leading Finnish research institute in the bioeconomy sector, providing scientific information and new innovations for the industry. Luke’s Breeding and Genomics group is an international top-quality group in developing and applying genetics, genomics and statistics in commercial animal breeding programmes and in developing breeding value estimation methods …

Genomic selection for disease resistance using industry data in rainbow trout: Resistance to Flavobacterium columnare

Flavobacterium columnare is the etiological cause of columnaris disease, which predominantly manifests itself as ulcerations of the gills and of the skin. Mortality due to columnaris disease is especially high in young fish in warm water, reducing fish welfare and causing significant losses to aquaculture industry. We validated the usefulness of genomic selection for survival to columnaris disease in rainbow trout, and implemented the methods in the commercial broodstocks with …

Self sufficiency of sustainable sea food production in EU – The role of selective breeding demonstrated by Aquakultor mobile game

Sea food is a healthy food choice. An average person living in the EU consumes 24 kg (live weight) of fish or seafood per year and this is 3.3 kg more than in the rest of the world (EU Facts and Figures, 2022). Sea food consumption has increased for centuries, and the world food fish consumption in 2030 is projected to be 18% higher than in 2018 (FAO, 2020). Aquaculture …

EU project unveils the power of fish gut microbiota for sustainable aquaculture

Aquaculture is becoming an increasingly attractive source of food production. Growing at a 2.2% rate from 1990 to 2020 to reach an outstanding sum of 90 million tonnes per year, it has gained popularity for its sustainability and high-quality seafood production. An EU project, AquaIMPACT, is supporting this growth by looking at the fish gut microbiota, the community of living microorganisms that harmoniously inhabit the fish gut. The keys behind …