Benchmark and University of Chile seek to breed better fish

Salmon ova supplier Benchmark Genetics and the University of Chile have formed a strategic partnership to develop collaborative projects focused on developing genetic and biotechnology solutions to tackle sustainability challenges in the aquaculture industry.

These will include improving selection for resistance to key disease threats to the Chilean salmon industry, improving the definition of resistance phenotypes, and harnessing the latest genomic and gene editing technologies.

The partnership builds on previous collaboration between the two, which resulted in shortlisting for the prestigious Newton Prize in 2018 for work on sea lice and SRS (Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia) resistance in Chile.

A cornerstone of science

Benchmark Genetics innovation director Dr Ross Houston said the agreement added to the company’s extensive and successful collaborative research and innovation programme.

“We are pleased to be working together with the world-leading aquaculture research group of Dr Jose Yanez and colleagues at the University of Chile. Benchmark Genetics sees such collaborations as a cornerstone of successful science and knowledge translation in aquaculture.”

Yanez, director of research and development of the Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science at the University of Chile, said: “As one of the world’s leading aquaculture genetics and genomics research teams, we are pioneering applied research into the use of genomic tools to improve aquaculture production across a wealth of species.

“We expect that the partnership with Benchmark, a leading biotechnology company, will enable our research to be translated into applied genetics programs to benefit the salmon industry.”

Houston said Benchmark expected that outputs from the research will be rapidly translated into practice to provide further improvements to the performance of its salmon lines in Chile.