A QUICK, ADAPTABLE, SPECIFIC, IN-FIELD METHOD FOR THE DETECTION OF PATHOGENS RELEVANT FOR THE SHRIMP INDUSTRY

Cargill Animal Nutrition, in an effort to better match feeding and management solutions to customer on-farm conditions, has developed a rapid method for monitoring sanitary conditions in shrimp aquaculture. The first generation of this solution has been deployed to customers in Mexico, with Ecuador and Vietnam following close behind.

We designed and developed a multiplex kit,  for the simultaneous detection of W hite Spot Syndrome Virus , A HPND and NHP (WAN Kit) , currently  the most relevant diseases in  shrimp producti on. Advantages of the kit include  timely reporting, specific detection and the adaptable technique,  since pathogen targets  can  be included or eliminated based on customer needs.

The process includes  1)  a DNA extraction, using  a commercial kit (Zymo), 2). a classic PCR, using an in-field thermocycler (miniPCR™ ) and 3) a blueGel system to visualize the presence or absence of the targets. The whole process takes ~4 hoursUsing this system , we  expect to report to our customer in less than 1 day the sanitary status of their operation .