2009/724 Genetic technologies to support a transformation to profitability and competitiveness in F. merguiensis and P. Monodon

By Wayne Knibb et al.

Seafarm, at Cardwell, for most of the last 20 years, has been Australia’s largest prawn farm and the major producer of Banana Prawns. This producer wanted to understand and resolve the suspected inbreeding/ loss of diversity issues, and if necessary, redesign their breeding program to ensure it would be sustainable in the long term. This project attempted a “forensic” examination of a prawn selection program with the intention that the information would help make the program more sustainable and contribute foundation knowledge of what likely happens in such mass selection programs conducted by other companies on organisms with very high fecundities. It was also tested whether hepatopacreatic parvovirus (HPV) was under genetic control.

This project was able to provide genetic management information that promoted increased productivity at Seafarm, helping to revise their genetic breeding program to mitigate inbreeding and restore allelic diversity. The revised program has halted further inbreeding; increased the diversity in the crossed lined; lifted the growth of the outcrossed lines vs the inbred lines; and accelerated the rate of selection response.