Delivering improved fertility and sperm storage solutions for salmon aquaculture

目标和活动：鲑鱼养殖在短期内取得了重大增长和成功，但全球需求意味着水产养殖将需要在向快速增长的人口提供动物蛋白方面发挥至关重要的作用（世界银行，2014年）。两个重叠的瓶颈目前限制了鲑鱼养殖的进展：(1)通过人工体外受精实现持续高水平繁殖的能力；(2)在产卵季节内和产卵季节之间可靠储存精子的能力。幸运的是，在鲑鱼的繁殖、受精、精子储存和冷冻保存方面存在着大量的研究知识，我们将通过这个创新项目将其转化为实践，以满足鲑鱼养殖的特定需求，以改进繁殖和增加种群。项目合作伙伴和水产养殖挑战：Landcatch Natural Selection有限公司的Alastair Hamilton和他的团队将与Matt Gage （UEA）合作，将工业实践专业知识与科学知识和技能相结合。迄今为止，鲑鱼养殖中的育种和种群增强（成功地）集中在提高生长、饲料转化率和抗病性方面。然而，在鲑鱼养殖的早期阶段，至关重要的是我们不能忽视来自基本生殖生物学的挑战，随着新菌株和新工艺的发展，必须通过驯化过程仔细管理这些挑战。亲鱼的繁殖力已经对鲑鱼养殖的进展构成了重大制约，今后应加以防范。目前，通常低于50%的生育率限制了农场阶段的生产力，因为这减少了从生长阶段到市场可以产生的有眼卵和鱼苗的数量。低育性也极大地限制了重复跨品系育种选择和改良的能力。除了生育能力的限制外，无效的精子储存解决方案对种群增加造成了主要的育种障碍。短期（几天到几周）的精子储存可以通过延长和冷冻技术在农场实现，研究人员已经使用这种技术实现了从脱毛到33天的生育能力。长期冷冻储存在鱼类，特别是鲑鱼中有详细的研究历史，现在开发的方法应该可以可靠地储存多年。将现有的知识和技术转化为养殖鲑鱼精子储存解决方案将改变水产养殖选择适合养殖的性状和增加种群的能力，特别是在现代基因组选择的可用性下。成果和产出：该项目将提供更好的生育和精子储存解决方案，立即使农场生产力受益，并改变选择和多样化最佳水产养殖性状的能力。产出将是技术报告和工作实践演示，详细说明如何将生育能力和精子储存方面的改进应用于农场，并通过Alastair Hamilton博士和他的团队直接传播给Landcatch。报告将在团队成员之间的讨论下进行改进和优化，以便优先考虑农场的实用性，从而通过成功的知识交流，直接在农场流程和工人之间成功实施变革。最终，报告将在同行评议的国际影响力期刊上发表，并在2017年克罗地亚举行的欧洲水产养殖学会年会上传播。同行评议的产出将在与水产养殖业有关的快速出版期刊上发表；我们期待四篇论文：两篇描述精子恢复、处理、分析和受精方面的改进，两篇描述短期和长期精子储存解决方案。项目持续时间：18个月，包括两个产卵季节，并允许6-12个月的低温保存测试。总成本：18.5万英镑（80% FEC）

AIMS OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES: Salmon farming has achieved major growth and success over a short period, but global demands mean that aquaculture will need to play a vital role in supplying animal protein to a fast-growing human population (World Bank 2014). Two overlapping bottlenecks currently limit progress in salmon aquaculture: (1) the ability to realise consistently high levels of fertility through artificial in vitro fertilisation, and (2) the ability to reliably store sperm both within and between spawning seasons. Fortunately, a very large body of research knowledge exists on reproduction, fertilisation, and sperm storage and cryopreservation in salmonids, which we will translate through this innovation project into practices that meet the specific needs of salmon aquaculture for improved breeding and stock enhancement. PROJECT PARTNERS AND AQUACULTURE CHALLENGES: Alastair Hamilton and his team at Landcatch Natural Selection Ltd will work with Matt Gage (UEA), combining practical expertise from industry with scientific knowledge and skills. Breeding and stock enhancements within salmon aquaculture have so far focused (successfully) on improvements in growth, feed conversion and disease resistance. However, it is essential at this early stage in salmon farming that we do not neglect challenges from fundamental reproductive biology, which must be carefully managed through the domestication process as new strains and processes are developed. Broodstock fertility already presents significant constraints on progress in salmon aquaculture, and this should be guarded against into the future. Fertility that is often below 50% currently limits productivity into the farm stage by reducing the number of eyed eggs and fry that can be generated for the grow-on stages to market. Low fertility also significantly constrains the ability to replicate cross-strain breeding selection and stock improvements. In addition to fertility limitations, ineffective sperm storage solutions place major breeding barriers on stock enhancement. Short-term (days to weeks) sperm storage using extenders and chilling can be implemented on the farm that researchers have used to achieve fertility up to 33 days from strip. Longer-term cryo-storage has a detailed history of investigation in fish, especially salmon, and methods are now developed that should allow reliable storage over years. Translating established knowledge and technology into farm salmon sperm storage solutions will transform aquaculture's ability to select for farm-friendly traits and enhance stocks, especially with the availability of modern genomic selection.DELIVERABLES AND OUTPUTS: The project will deliver better fertility and sperm storage solutions, immediately benefiting farm productivity, and transforming the ability to select for and diversify optimal aquaculture traits. The outputs will be technical reports and demonstrations of work practice that detail how improvements in fertility and sperm storage can be applied on the farm, disseminated direct to Landcatch through Dr Alastair Hamilton and his team. The reports will be evolved and optimised under discussion between the team members so that the farm practicality perspective is prioritised, allowing successful implementation of change among farm processes and workers directly as a result of successful Knowledge Exchange. Ultimately, reports will be published in peer-reviewed international impact journals, and disseminated at the European Aquaculture Society annual meeting in Croatia '17. Peer-reviewed outputs will be produced in rapid-publication journals with relevance to the aquaculture industry; we anticipate four papers: two describing improvements in sperm recovery, handling, analysis and fertilization, and two on short-term and long-term sperm storage solutions.PROJECT DURATION: 18 months, to encompass two spawning seasons and to allow 6-12 month testing of cryopreservation. TOTAL COST: £185k (80% FEC)