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Development and evaluation of miniaturized biosensors for diagnosis of pathogens in aquaculture

Project description

Early molecular diagnosis of aquaculture pathogens

Aquaculture is one of the world’s fastest-growing food sectors and an integral component of Europe’s bioeconomy. Without fish farming, there would not be enough fish to feed the world population. However, farmed fish are vulnerable to disease. This makes early diagnosis a priority. The EU-funded AQUASENSE project will develop a new biosensor for early molecular diagnosis of aquaculture pathogens and to evaluate the use of third-generation sequencing to monitor potential reservoirs of pathogens. Using turbot aquaculture as a study case, the project will test its device for the detection of pathogens in turbot. The aim will be to allow more targeted treatments and reduce mortality and the use of antibiotics.

Objective

The aquaculture industry is essential to meet the dietary needs of the growing world population and an important contributor to the European economy and to the people’s health and welfare. However, its expansion has been limited by the great variety of diseases that affect farmed species and cause great economic losses. There is an urgent need to find new methodologies that allow cost-effective and early-detection that can be easily applied in decentralized settings or points-of-care. The main goal of AQUASENSE is the development of a new biosensor for early molecular diagnosis of aquaculture pathogens and to evaluate the use of third generation sequencing to monitor potential reservoirs of pathogens. To perform this, the turbot aquaculture will be used as a study case. A miniaturized device based on microscale solid phase extraction (µSPE) and microfluidics will be developed and optimized to perform universal highly efficient DNA extraction and purification from aquaculture samples. Then this system will be integrated with a novel biosensing module, based on isothermal amplification and CRISPR/Cas system, to develop a micro total analysis system (µTAS) suitable for resource-limited analysis. This device will be evaluated for the detection of two of the most problematic pathogens in turbot. In parallel, a miniaturized nanopore sequencer will be used to monitor the microbiome present in the samples and the potential reservoirs of pathogens, with the aid of the universal highly efficient DNA extraction device. This technology will allow more targeted treatments and reduce mortality and the use of antibiotics, improving the profitability of the sector. These objectives fit with important goals included in the Farm to Fork European Strategy (European Green Deal), such as reduce dependency on antimicrobials, improve the knowledge about microbiome and reach a more sustainable aquaculture production, all of them aimed at achieving a robust and resilient food system.

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

INTERNATIONAL IBERIAN NANOTECHNOLOGY LABORATORY
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 147 815,04
Address
AVENIDA MESTRE JOSE VEIGA
4715-330 Braga
Portugal

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Region
Continente Norte Cávado
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 147 815,04
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