Aquaculture Africa 2024

November 19 - 22, 2024

Hammamet, Tunisia

HARNESSING BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND ENHANCED GROWTH IN SHRIMP AND FISH

                          Rishita Changede, Suruchi Sharma, Abhijith E K

                          TeOra Pte Ltd

                          79 Ayer Rajah Crescent, 05-03, Singapore 139955, Singapore
                          rishita@teora.life; rishitac@u.nus.edu

 



One in three calories in aquaculture are lost to disease. However, disease management solutions in hatcheries and farms are limited, where limited vaccination, antibiotics, pesticides, and biological control remain unable to prevent losses that can reach up to 90% of the grown fish or shrimp. TeOra aims to revolutionize disease management in aquaculture, using cutting-edge synthetic biology and bioinformatics. Our programmable platform can biomanufacture prophylactic and therapeutic solutions, customized to individual disease for multiple fishes and shrimps. We offer a solution that is easy to store, simple in use, and cost-competitive. SOLAQ platform combines a multidisciplinary approach to disease management. It has 3 pillars, the bioinformatics platform, synthetic biology and material science to deliver safe and effective products orally. The bioinformatics platform has a curated aquaculture database and combines it with machines learning and  structural prediction models to next generation disease management and vaccine solutions for aquaculture.

SOLAQ platform has been validated in shrimps, targeting the White Spot Syndrome Virus. We have delivered the prophylactic peptides to shrimps in animal challenge trials and have observed an increase in survival from 0% in untreated shrimps to 83% in treated shrimps. The trials also confirmed the safety of our product in shrimps (no adverse health effects, no weight loss). These are orally delivered by inclusion in the feed as a top coat. We have other solutions in development for shrimp and fish diseases.

We aim our products bring cutting edge biotechnology to  managing disease challenges with a wide spectrum of customizable solutions. Our solutions are natural, sustainable and safe, with which, we aim to replace/reduce harmful chemicals.