Aquaculture 2025

March 6 - 10, 2025

New Orleans, Louisiana USA

Add To Calendar 07/03/2025 17:00:0007/03/2025 17:20:00America/ChicagoAquaculture 2025UNLOCKING COMMERCIAL SCALE GENOME EDITINGStudio 9The World Aquaculture Societyjohnc@was.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYanrl65yqlzh3g1q0dme13067

UNLOCKING COMMERCIAL SCALE GENOME EDITING

John T. Buchanan*, Matthew Josephson, Ashutosh Pudasaini, Yehwa Jin, Stephan Samu, Brandon Tsai

The Center for Aquaculture Technologies

8445 Camino Santa Fe. Suite 104. San Diego, CA, 92121. USA

jbuchanan@aquatechcenter.com

 



Genome editing technologies hold transformative potential for aquaculture by enabling precise and efficient modifications to key traits, thereby driving advancements in commercial-scale production. These technologies offer unique opportunities to enhance economically valuable characteristics, including sterility, growth rate, and thermal tolerance, which are crucial for addressing challenges in sustainable aquaculture. However, achieving large-scale adoption requires overcoming significant technical, regulatory, and societal barriers. Here, we present results demonstrating high-throughput microinjection delivered genome editing in tilapia, achieving over 95% editing efficiency in somatic cells across thousands of embryos per day. Additionally, we showcase methods to utilize genome editing for the mass production of sterile fish, directly addressing environmental, regulatory, and societal concerns about genetically engineered organisms. This work highlights recent progress, innovative strategies for scaling genome editing, and the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration in unlocking its full potential, ultimately fostering a more sustainable and resilient aquaculture industry.