50 JUNE 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG ALLER TILPRO on granting of freedoms with a range of protections and licensing agreements that can include existing provisions such as trademarks and patents. These freedoms can include permission to fabricate, modify or distribute designs created and shared by others, with specified restrictions on use (e.g., with or without commercialization) or provisions for ascribing credit. This thinking traces its roots to open-source software initiatives and has coalesced into organizations such as Creative Commons (creativecommons.org) which provides a system of licensing and provides structures for placing innovations into the public domain. Examples include open scientific hardware (Fig. 4) fabricated by 3-D printing at the AGGRC (with more than 40 3-D printers located throughout the facility), smart devices operated with microcontrollers and mechanical components, sensing and monitoring platforms and microfluidic systems. Collaboration among multiple disciplines is the core of this program, integrating the long-standing background of cryobiology and aquatic reproduction with expertise in fields within and outside the LSU Agricultural Center, including close collaborators in biological engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, agricultural economics and other cooperators in mechanical engineering, environmental engineering and computer science. This work also benefits greatly from close collaboration with USDA-ARS research facilities and the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program in Ft. Collins, Colorado. This is the leading animal germplasm repository in the world and includes aquatic species important to agriculture. Commercial-scale Application The AGGRC is a longtime leader in developing approaches to freeze, store and use samples for industrial applications where costs, time and sample quality become important factors. The AGGRC has industrial equipment such as automated equipment to rapidly fill, seal and label sample containers (e.g., 15,000 straws per hour) and large computer-controlled freezers. The Center has also built a mobile cryopreservation laboratory using a custom-designed trailer (Fig. 5) for high-throughput freezing at other locations. This greatly improves accessibility to user groups and allows work with fish and samples that are freshly collected without the need for overnight shipping that can reduce quality. Collaboration with industrial engineers at LSU has resulted in new uses of tools such as process mapping and computer simulation to help plan for scaling up cryopreservation for use in commercial settings. This work is aimed at establishing new business opportunities, such as new markets for genetic resources, and to support existing industries such as fish farming. Outreach The AGGRC is always involved in traditional outreach activities, such as teaching and training, including tours, hosting visitors and traveling to work with cooperators. Dozens of undergraduates have worked or done research at the center from across a wide range of departments at LSU. The AGGRC also has active collaborations around the world. For example, a current project with Bangladesh Agricultural University is intended to help protect native fishes and provide food security to local people by development of germplasm repositories. In addition to regional, national and international cooperation, the Center has developed capabilities such as photography and digital media studios to allow production of professional-quality manuals and videos needed for training and use of open hardware technology (Fig. 6). In summary, the AGGRC is proud to carry forward a 75-year legacy of addressing real-world problems as we move into the future. It has benefitted greatly by absorbing ideas from established industries like dairy and using those lessons to develop important new capabilities for fish and other aquatic organisms. It is extremely important as a nation and world that we develop the ability to protect the genetic resources of aquatic species. This is necessary to support aquaculture, which provides nutrition and economic development around the planet, to protect imperiled species from extinction, to maintain strong populations of wild fisheries and to enable biomedical research to improve human health. The AGGRC has emerged as a unique interdisciplinary facility with four interlocking programs designed to bring new approaches to large, global problems. This will create fresh opportunities and support the growth of lucrative markets and industries for protecting and distributing the genetic resources of aquatic species. Notes Terrence Tiersch, Jack Koch and Yue Liu, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70820 the “Cajun Ejector” Terry Tiersch, aquatic researcher at the LSU AgCenter Aquatic Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center in Baton Rouge, displays the “Cajun Ejector” that was made on a 3D printer and is used to increase the efficiency of freezing and storing straws of genetic material in containers of nitrogen (Photo: Johnny Morgan, LSU AgCenter).
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