ABC Industry Advisory Committee
Sixth Meeting
Wachapreague Lab
November 17, 2014
Meeting Minutes
In attendance: Stan Allen, Ryan Carnegie, Mike Congrove, Andy Drewer, AJ Erskine, Tom Gallivan, Mark Luckenbach, Tim Rapine, Jessica Small, John Vigliotta
Absent: Kim Husky, Mike Oesterling
Introduction – Stan
ABC changes
· Anu Frank Lawale has taken a position at Tyson
· ABC is working with Peter Kube at CSIRO in Australia for quantitative genetic analysis expertise
o ABC has a contract with CSIRO
o Jessica manages all data for ABC and funnels that to P. Kube
o Interpretation of quantitative genetic data and application for breeding is a joint collaboration
Ongoing/recently completed R&D projects
· Diploid/triploid project - Stan
o Multiple diploid parents (VA wild, MD wild, ABC select lines etc.) crossed with common tetraploid parent deployed to make 3N animals
o Experimentally deployed for 2 years, sampled seasonally
· performance metrics = growth rate and survival
· meat weights taken late fall
o Results:
· triploids will perform well almost regardless of female parent
· “tetraploid floats all boats” – brings disease resistance and selection with it
· ****northern cross not withstanding
· when using ABC lines, no particular line excels for triploids (DEBY, Lola, hANA etc.)
· diploid ABC lines do as well or almost as well as triploids made from wild stock
· Tom Gallivan – noted that in his experience, diploids are fatter in the winter than triploids
· benefits of triploids are uncertain in low (MD) salinity
· experiment was deployed late fall with small seed and did not fare well over winter in MD
· AJ Erskine noted that they overwinter seed very small and see an advantage to triploids in low salinity
· survival of 2N and 3N are about the same, except in disease areas
· York River (disease area) – 3N far better survival over 2N
· 3N likely has more physiological resources – glycogen
o **Stan wants to know what is best way to relate the essential results of this study
· AJ commented that meat/ yield weight data is important
· ex: what wild stocks were used and how did they perform
· “guide?” for hatchery?
o what to use where
· Mike Congrove – maybe put out to public as a pamphlet
· Tim Rapine – yes, guide good– he fields calls from MD for example about what people should grow
· Tom Gallivan – it important to convey that this is a study however, growing techniques, environmental variability, husbandry etc. all come into play, regardless of genetics
· Ryan Carnegie – a variety of strains etc. may work for given circumstances
· Stan – believes people in general are attributing more to triploids than they should
· Important thing is disease resistance (and increasingly other traits)
· Mark Luckenbach – suggests 2 page (1st with study details, back with table of recommendations)
· Tim Rapine recounted a story whereby – hANAs worked great to start, then did not grow well with second batch “this is not the way it is supposed to be”
· Some people in industry are not knowledgeable enough to know about caveats as to growing seasons, etc. (May vs. September performance)
· Tom Gallivan – for example this is why (above) he grows 4-5 different things
· Also some people want small (4mm) seed so they can stagger production – one thing a document might suggest is what line would perform well in the fall, as an example
· Tim Rapine – noted that best performing seed may not be best for grow out and this varies year to year as well
· Stan – suggests ABC may think about experimenting on identical line spawns deployed at different times of the year. How does it perform?
· Triploid mortality project update and explanation of future project – Jess
o Project deployed in June with ~2000 animals per line at each site
§ 2N DEBY, 3N DEBY, 3N HANA, 3N Northern Cross
§ Pungoteague, Kings Creek, Milford Haven, Nassawaddox, Rapphannock
§ Animals at all sites are generally in good condition according to Karen Hudson who visited all growers during the first week in October
§ At that time deployed HOBO data loggers that will hourly monitor temperature and salinity for duration of project
§ Will check with growers one more time in December and then not again until spring when animals will be divided into experimental replicates
o Future project – VA SeaGrant proposal but will happen regardless
§ Joey Matt – graduate student
§ Plans to cross 2 kinds of tetraploids with diploid DEBY and diploid Northern animals and deploy triploids at various industry sites
§ Will look at gametogenesis and mortality throughout the spring and early summer growing season
§ Hopes to better understand how spawning signal of the diploid may play a role in gametogenesis and mortality of triploid oysters
§ Full details of project will be sent to industry in a 1 page document through Marine Advisory Service
§ John Vigiliotta asked – what about DEBY 3N?
· Stan’s response – not sure DEBY is a problem or was it incidental mortality linked to that region
§ AJ Erskine – asked if people have seen mortality in northern 3N in low salinity?
· Stan’s response: we are trying to isolate the variables
§ Tim Rapine and Tom Gallivan commented that the northern triploid is a great seed, grows fast, pretty etc.
· Historically it has been great
· ~3 years ago is when things went down hill
· probably many more people than were talking had problems
§ thought it was husbandry issue
· 3rd time around, significant mortality, clearly some issue
§ Stan – this is why we are trying to isolate the issue now
§ Tim Rapine commented that one really wonders if the mortality was actually DEBY and not something else,
· This year he used disease resistant lines/”changed things up” and had no problem this year like in years past
§ Mike Congrove – maybe people knowing that some mortality event is going on are not able to distinguish between husbandry issue and line mortality
§ Mark Luckenbach- points out that this (mortality) could happen with any line – need to be vigilant
· High health project update – Stan
o 2012 spawns of ABC tetraploids were moved in May/June 2013 to 5 different field locations, all with different salinities to stay for 3-4 months
o October 2013, batches of each 4N group were given to hatcheries to condition, artificial winter at all hatcheries, then conditioning done by each hatchery
§ HPL, OSH, Cherrystone (2), WARD, representing a gradient of salinities
o Sampling 6, 8, 10, 14 weeks – qualitative assessment
§ Fatness (1-5)
§ Ripeness(1-5)
§ Male or female
§ Sperm motility
§ FCM of sperm
o HPL – flow through conditioning system
§ 2n- ripe in 6 weeks, 8 weeks better
§ 4N – ripeness delayed 2-4 weeks
o OSH – variability in tetraploid ripeness
§ 4Ndelayed compared to 2N
o Ward – ripe 4N in about 10 weeks
§ Did not matter that much about prior salinity
§ Was not that fat
§ Static system
o Cheriton – took 10 weeks for tetraploids to get to a comparable ripeness to diploids
o Observation – All static systems seems to have less “fat” animals compared to flow through
o Lessons – not necessarily critical where 4N was prior to going into hatchery
§ don’t expect 4N to condition when diploids do – biology of tetraploids is different
§ tetraploids were 17:1 male – this is good
Issues of concern – Ryan Carnegie
· Has been working on issues with interstate transfers related to sound scientific rationale
o Create ways to allow free movement of seed with scientific backing
o We do need to be more vigilant with “looming” pathogens
o Example: OsHV1-microvar
§ Globally #1 concern
§ Only documented problems in C. gigas as of right now
o Peter Kirkland in NSW, Australia – can accept animals to do challenges to OsHV- M. mercenaria and C. virginica
§ This week Ryan/Stan will look for sources of 6-9 month old seed (~40mm) oysters and clams
§ Few hundred animals
§ Get some baseline info on susceptibility
· Will aid breeding activities here
§ OSHV challenges have been run against O. angasi – negative results
§ Sydney rock oysters may also be resistant
o John Vigliotta – was approached about buying O. edulis from Europe
§ NY has cold water Vibrio sp. (Vp) – asked if that could be transferred?
· Tim Rapine – northern Vp was found in Fisherman’s Island according to Health Department
§ Ryan Carnegie – should industry worry? Yes! Vibrios may be able to be transferred b/c of relationship they form with tissues
o Andy Drewer – are there any size-related differences in restrictions on movements of oysters?
§ Ryan Carnegie – no, no size related restriction
§ IAC member – at Boston seafood show – European oysters on display
· Ryan Carnegie – the oysters at the Boston show may have been grown in the US (likely Gulf of Maine), but the real risk on imported animals to this coast are those that go to restaurants - how animal or shell material is handled is worrisome
· OIE activities
o There has been a reluctance to put OsHV on OIE list (2009) – so presently, oysters can be transported and are not tested for the virus
o Have been working with OIE and USDA to get OsHV listed
o OIE listing is insurance for east coast stocks (from west coast or abroad)
o Why it has not been on the list is mostly due to politics
§ Would restrict movement of material within EU
o Has to get industry support to USDA, get USA and Canada together to go to OIE as member countries
o Tim Rapine suggests education to industry about seed import and disease issues
o Tom Gallivan/Mark Luckenbach – suggests (VDH) health department permitting in conjunction with seed importation education simultaneously
o Tom Gallivan – perhaps part of 1 pager is also good place to add talk of seed import/disease issues
o Mark Luckenbach recommends that industry write a letter to Comm. Bull about people importing seed without permits esp. being that it is clear people are doing so – Jim Wesson could/Sec. Nat. Resources etc.
ABC 4.0 – Stan
· Change in focus – adding tetraploids to what has been primarily a diploid focus on the part of ABC
o ~ 5 year plan
o Tetraploid technology originated at Rutgers
§ originally 4Cs had the IP, then later on ABC was able to get a cut (this is up to end of patent)
§ 4N patent ended last October
§ W&M and Stan were able to negotiate with 4Cs to release technology completely to VIMS
· technology being run on behalf of industry by those that developed it
· Evolution of breeding program
o 1.0 – disease resistance – improved 2N broodstock
§ ABC has distributed ~13,500 b stock in 2014
§ the number distributed per year has decreased because of better quality of the brood stock
o 2.0 – polyploidy – ample supply of 4N
§ came about due to C. ariakensis studies and needing to make 3N C. virginica as controls
§ gave industry insight as to what triploid C. virginica can do
§ tetraploids were made from a variety of disease resistant lines, however, are relatively unimproved thereafter
o 3.0 - professional breeding
§ after making diploid lines, need for professional breeding in the form of families –ANU era
· can lead to surgical look at specific traits
o 4.0 – improvement of tetraploids
§ now ABC puts ~80% of effort into diploids ~20% tetraploids
§ there is an imbalance as industry uses 90% triploids
§ nowhere in the world are triploids as important as the Chesapeake Bay
§ 5 year process
· cytogenetics – what happens with the chromosomes? How important is that? Can we breed around it?
o post-doc
· 3n physiology – post doc
o 1st focus on triploid mortality issue
o also potential collaboration with Louis Plough at UMD
· quantitative genetics – change in focus
o 4N families
o tetraploid advancement is unique
· ABC “investment curve”
o ABC yearly state investment is $500K
o shows ABC has been a good investment for the State
o Stan showed formula for how our IP comes in and continues ABC’s work
o Stan showed ABC budget for next year
§ goal is to keep ABC sustainable
§ About $200K in licensing revenues is needed for sustainability per year
§ funds over and above ABC operations would be “opportunity funds”
§ ABC wants to foster this industry partnership
§ Operating costs do not include OAT program
· this is an example of an activity above breeding that ABC does and is beneficial to industry
· Tetraploids made at commercial hatcheries
o The patent for tetraploids is over and commercial hatcheries can produce tetraploids themselves if they want
o Stan advised that this was troublesome and difficult and his opinion is that this technology is better kept in an expert program, i.e., ABC
o If commercial hatcheries in Virginia insist on moving forward, Stan agreed that he would spend a day tutoring them on the process
· Questions will gladly be answered subsequent to the tutelage
· Most of the interested hatcheries have people formerly from the ABC shop anyway
· Not realistic is expecting ABC to do the tetraploid work for the hatcheries as this will probably take a better part of a season just to get started
Hatchery Forum Dec 3rd – Ryan Carnegie
· ‘We’ need to know what all the problems are, what are consistent problems, outside of VDOT issues etc.
· there are VIMS activities such as HABs, metals, Dave Kuhn’s water quality testing etc. going on on research front
· hope is to know scope of problems – exchanging of work going on and ideas and what gaps are etc.