SBIR-STTR Award

Worldwide, shrimpculture is one of the largest sectors of aquaculture. The U.S. shrimpculture industry has a value of over $20 million, and the wild harvest of shrimp is valued at over $1 billion. Yet there are few resources available to help manage the health care needs of this economically important commodity. A preventative medicine approach to health care for shrimp is the most cost effective means of reducing the substantial losses that have been incurred by the industry due to disease outbreaks. Two components of such a preventive medicine program are vaccines and diagnostics. Because shrimp have a rudimentary immune system, vaccination is difficult and relatively ineffective. This gives diagnostics even greater importance. However, at present there are limited applicable diagnostic modalities available to the industry. Those that are currently utilized are slow, expensive, technically exacting, and have only moderate sensitivity. The shrimp industry needs appropriate diagnostics to help prevent the establishment of a pathogen in commercial and wild stocks, and for managing the spread of endemic pathogens. The proposed research will develop monoclonal antibodies (MAb) and initially validate their use in ELISAs specific to the two most economically important diseases of the Americans, Taura Syndrome virus (TSV) and infectious hypodermal and hemorrhagic necrosis virus (IHHNV).Applications:The anticipated results from this Phase I project will be anti-TSV and anti-IHHNV specific monoclonal antibody reagents suitable for use in research and disease diagnosis. It is also anticipated that while initially validating the sensitivity of the MAb in different ELISA test formats, progress will be made in developing industry appropriate diagnostic modalities. In Phase 11, it will be proposed to further develop these test formats, as well as develop additional MAb to other critically important pathogens of shrimp. In Phase 111 this library of MAb will be assembled into a screening panel, using the developed test kit formats, and marketed domestically and internationally to help manage the financially devastating losses that are currently plaguing the industry.

Globally, the shrimpculture industry loses billions of dollars annually as a result of disease outbreaks. Domestically, an exotic viral agent from Ecuador (Taura Syndrome Virus, TSV) was introduced into the U.S. and resulted in $11 million loss to our $20 million shrimpculture industry and threatened our S1 billion wild shrimp fisheries industry. A preventive medicine approach to health care for shrimp is the most cost effective means of reducing the substantial losses that have been incurred by the industry due to disease outbreaks. Two components of such a preventive medicine program are vaccines and diagnostics. Because shrimp have a rudimentary immune system, vaccination is cliffficult and relatively ineffective. This gives diagnostics even greater importance. However, at present there are limited applicable diagnostic modalities available to the industry. Those that are currently utilized are slow, expensive and are technically exacting. The shrimp industry needs appropriate diagnostics to help prevent the establishment of exotic pathogens in commercial and wild stocks, and for managing the spread of endemic pathogens. The proposed research will build on the successful results of Phase I work to develop monoclonal antibodies to eight of the most economically devastating pathogens of shrimp, and to develop rapid, sensitive and specific immunoassays for use both in the field and laboratory.Applications:The anticipated results from this Phase II project, when combined with the monoclonal antibodies successfully developed in Phase I to TSV and IHHNV, will be the creation of libraries of monoclonal antibodies to the 8 most important pathogens of shrimp. Separately and together these immunologic reagents will be formatted into market appropriate diagnostic kits. Once commercialized in Phase m, these reagents will serve as research tools to develop much needed information about the epidemiology and pathogenesis of these agents, while the diagnostic test kits will help manage the financially devastating losses that are currently plaguing the industry.