GROWTH, DISEASE RESISTANCE, & REPRODUCTION:

SO MANY TRAITS AND SO LITTLE TIME

Shaun M. Moss
Dustin R. Moss
Oceanic Institute
Waimanalo, Hawaii USA
 Change in Dominant Species

L. vannamei P. monodon

2000 (MT) 2009 (MT) % change

L. vannamei 146,362 2,327,534 + 1,490
P. monodon 630,984 769,219 + 22
FAO 2011
 What Caused This Change?

• Lack of healthy P. monodon broodstock from

captive or wild stocks

• Poor pond performance of P. monodon

• Commercial availability of Specific Pathogen Free

(SPF) L. vannamei

• Commercial availability of genetically improved L.

vannamei
 Pathways to Genetic Improvement
Wild Shrimp Domestication Improved Shrimp

Mass Selection

Family Selection

Walk-Back Selection

Marker-Assisted Selection

Transgenics
Commercially Important Traits

• Growth
• Growout Survival
• Resistance to TSV
• Resistance to WSSV
• Reproductive Traits
• Carcass Traits
 Benefits of Selective Breeding
 Improved Growth
 Genetic gains for growth: 3-25% per generation
 Gains dependent on heritability, phenotypic and genetic
variability, and selection intensity
 Phenotypic variability for growth

Harvest Weight Growth Rate Minimum Size Maximum Size

(g) (g/week) (g) (g)
Top 3 families:
25.13 2.19 18.66 33.56
23.63 2.09 15.94 30.54
24.46 2.07 16.56 30.45
Bottom 3 families:
19.37 1.68 13.81 26.70
18.52 1.66 11.08 24.26
18.57 1.59 12.95 26.34
 Benefits of Selective Breeding
Example of OI project in SE Asia
SE Asia OI
Trial ADG Survival ADG Survival
(g) (%) (g) (%)
1 0.25 85.8 0.27 90.8
2 0.24 90.8 0.29 85.9
3 0.25 89.1 0.27 89.0

Correlations among traits

Trait rp
Thailand growth - Thailand survival 0.35
Thailand growth - Hawaii growth 0.81
Thailand survival - Hawaii survival 0.01
Thailand survival - TSV challenge 0.37
Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV)
• ssRNA virus
• h2 estimates ~ 0.2 (moderate)
• TSV survival : 12-18% per generation
• Commercially available families exhibit >80%
survival in per os laboratory challenges
100

80
Generation 7
Mean = 84%
60 CV = 13.6%

40

20

0
100
Generation 2
80 Mean = 44%
CV = 43.3%
60

40

20

0
Shrimp families
 Heritability Estimates & Correlations
for TSV Survival

Pond Pond
Trait USTX95 BZ01 TH04 VZ05
Growth Survival

0.21 ±
USTX95 0.29* 0.21 0.44** 0.07 0.22
0.02

BZ01 0.25 ± 0.02 0.54*** 0.56*** -0.12 -0.12

0.20 ±
TH04 0.59*** -0.04 0.00
0.04

0.24 ±
VZ05 0.04 -0.04
0.05
White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV)

• dsDNA virus
• h2 estimates typically < 0.1 (low)
• Mass selection attempts in S. America have failed

Family Treatment Survival

LP-1 Negative control 49 of 50 (98%)

LP-2 Negative control 91 of 96 (95%)

LP-3 Negative control 68 of 68 (100%)

Kona WSSV positive 0 of 20 (0%)

control

LP-1 (2 tanks) WSSV challenge 24 of 104 (23%)

LP-2 (2 tanks) WSSV challenge 74 of 129 (57%)

WSSV virion
mean size = 275 nm LP-3 (2 tanks) WSSV challenge 34 of 130 (26%)

Modified from Cuéllar-Anjel et al. 2011

 Obstacles & Opportunities
 Use of economic-based selection indices
 Most of the industry is fragmented
 Vertically integrated companies can examine “trade-offs” that
could increase overall profitability

Pre-harvest
Maturation Hatchery Nursery Growout
Spawning Freq Survival Survival Survival
Spawn Size Growth Growth Growth
Hatch Rate
Post-harvest

Processing Market
Size Color
Size Distribution Texture
Taste
Tail : Body weight
 Need for biosecurity and a
controlled environment

Genetics + Environment = Profitability

Genetics + Environment = Profitability

Genetics + Environment = Profitability

On-Farm Biosecurity
 Traditional Shrimp Farms
WEST EAST

5 - 50 hectare 0.1 - 0.5 hectare

Economic Impact from Diseases

Modified from Lightner 2008

Integrated Approach to Biofloc Technology

Shrimp

Production
Microbes
Systems

Feeds &
Nutrients
 Benefits of BFT
• Reduce water exchange rates
- minimize pathogen introduction
- reduce effluent discharge

• Small environmental “footprint”, high production per

unit surface area/volume, grow shrimp “indoors”

• Move shrimp farming away from the coast and away

from tropical/subtropical latitudes
- avoid multiple-use conflicts
- produce shrimp closer to major markets and
year around
 Biofloc-based Systems

Heterotrophic
System

Photoautotrophic
System

Biofloc Particle
crude protein = 26.0 – 41.9%
crude fat = 1.2 – 2.3%
ash = 18.3 – 40.7%
Reduced Environmental Footprint

• Traditional Texas farm stocked at 50 shrimp/m2

with one crop per year
• Super-intensive recirculating farm stocked at
600 shrimp/m2 with 3.5 crops per year
 Emerging Systems

SUPER-INTENSIVE RAS

Trial Duration (days) 83

Stocking Density (shrimp/m2) 828

Stock Weight (g) 0.52

Survival (%) 67.9

Production (kg/m2) 10.3

 Maximize genetic potential Harvest Weight (g) 18.3

 Year-round, biosecure farming Growth (g/wk) 1.50

 Expand geographic range FCR 1.50

 Site farms closer to markets Water Use (L/kg) 402

Water Use (%/day) 2.1

 Command niche market prices
 Pathway to Greater Success

SPF Genetic Biosecure

Shrimp + Improvement + Production
System

Increase in Profitability
Thank You!