Home / / Aquanews

Trial to test probiotics in oyster farming

Trial to test probiotics in oyster farming
Author: FeedStuffs
Publish date: Tuesday. November 5th, 2019

Researchers developing dried probiotic supplement that can be fed to oyster larvae to improve health and vitality.

Oyster farming is a $12 million-per-year industry in Oregon, and growers are proactively seeking preventatives against a deadly virus that has decimated European and Asian oyster farms, according to the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University.

Dr. Carla Schubiger in the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine has identified three strains of probiotic bacteria in the digestive tract of Pacific oysters that enhance the growth of young oysters and make them stronger.

“To our knowledge, these are the first oyster probiotics that increase both disease resistance and larval growth,” Schubiger said.

Now, in a new project funded by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Schubiger is developing a dried probiotic supplement that can be fed to oyster larvae in hatcheries to improve their health and vitality, the college said.

In the first year of the project, Schubiger’s team will feed oyster larvae different combinations of probiotics, including the three promising strains that they previously isolated. Then, they will expose the larvae to near-lethal amounts of a marine oyster pathogen: the bacterium Vibrio coralliilyticus. They will also conduct experiments without the pathogen. The goal is to determine the minimum concentration of probiotics needed to achieve the highest gains in growth and survival, the college said.

When the study is completed, the researchers said they plan to collaborate with OFD Foods, a manufacturer of freeze-dried products in Albany, Ore., to develop a shelf-stable, dried probiotic supplement that will be tested at collaborating hatcheries on the West Coast and in Hawaii to see how it improves the growth and survival of oyster larvae in a larger setting.


Related news

Vietnam takes drastic measures to prevent chemically injected shrimp Vietnam takes drastic measures to prevent chemically injected shrimp

Nine samples of commercial white leg shrimp have been taken suddenly, unannounced, and at random from Tuy Phước, Phù Cát, and Phù Mỹ districts

Monday. November 4th, 2019
Why aquaculture is becoming big on blockchain Why aquaculture is becoming big on blockchain

The value of adopting blockchain technology in the aquaculture sector was the subject of a special seminar at Aqua Nor this week.

Monday. November 4th, 2019
Can Vietnamese shrimp exports hit US$4.2 billion? Can Vietnamese shrimp exports hit US$4.2 billion?

Is it possible that Vietnam’s shrimp export value can hit US$4.2 billion USD while the export volume is experiencing a downward trend?

Tuesday. November 5th, 2019