This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to explore the novel use of an immune protein for measuring stress in rainbow trout. No convenient tests are currently available to measure stress, a condition that often leads to disease. Accurate stress measurements will dramatically reduce disease losses, the major cause of economic losses in salmonid aquaculture. HLP-1 is a potent antibiotic immune protein that is naturally present in many tissues of rainbow trout. This protein is expected to play a critical role in protecting trout against disease. Stress has been noted to cause a dramatic decrease in HLP-1 levels. This Phase I Project will explore the feasibility of measuring HLP-1 in gill tissue using a simple, antibody-based methodology (ELISA). This assay should have sufficient sensitivity and specificity to be used for commercial development of a low- cost, field-deployable, immunoassay prototype test. The commercial application of this project is in the field of aquaculture. The proposed technology will find use in aquacultured food fish, as well as for health monitoring in pet fish, laboratory animals and wild fish populations
