New high-quality shrimp genome assembly focuses on females

Enzootic and NRGene assemble first high-quality female shrimp genome to enhance all-female shrimp breeding.

Enzootic, an animal biotechnology and genetics company leading the all-female shrimp movement, and NRGene, a leading provider of genomic big data analysis, have completed the world's first high-quality sequencing and assembly of the genome of freshwater shrimp, Macrobrachium rosenbergii.

The major factor that distinguishes the genome of the female shrimp from that of its male counterpart is the distinctive chromosome (W) carried only by the female, the companies said. Despite the obvious importance of this chromosome, the sequences and encoding genes unique to this chromosome remained unknown until now.

The incentive to study the genome of female shrimp derived from the dramatic performance advantages of farming all-female populations of shrimp, according to the companies. Enzootic's position in the commercialization of this novel mono-sex strategy led to the partnership with NRGene in a quest to learn more about the performance superiority of female shrimp and to enhance the breeding of the all-female broodstock.

"The preliminary study of this outstanding high-quality genome has already revealed dozens of new previously unknown putative W-specific genes, with a fascinating array of functional motifs that could shed light on the importance of the W chromosome and its potential impact on the performance of females," said crustacean endocrinologist professor Amir Sagi of Israel's Ben-Gurion University in the Negev and co-founder of Enzootic. "Further research will be needed to reveal the role of these novel genes and how they regulate the physiology of females under mono-sex aquaculture conditions."

"Our collaboration with Enzootic on the assembly of the first high-quality, reference-level shrimp genome is part of NRGene's strategy to support and enhance breeding of highly important animal protein agro-industries, such as shrimp and aquaculture, as a vital food source," said Dr. Gil Ronen, NRGene chief executive officer. "We work ceaselessly to continually improve our technology to have an ongoing, powerful, positive impact on the world food supply."

The impact of the female shrimp genome assembly on shrimp production was stated by professor Xuxiong Huang, vice dean of the College of Fisheries & Life Science at Shanghai Ocean University: "Farmed shrimp is an imperative protein source for many countries. In 2016, China alone produced around 3.3 million metric tons of marine and freshwater shrimp, representing about 50% of the global production. This newly assembled, high-quality freshwater shrimp genome is an important addition to the advanced technological tools that will be used in coming years in the breeding of shrimp toward a more effective and sustainable shrimp farming industry."

He added, "The freshwater shrimp industry today still predominantly relies on traditional, low-tech methodologies, which lag behind those of other more advanced livestock industries. With the addition of this genome and the introduction of mono-sex technologies, I believe this can promote this industry towards 21st-century practices."