Project: Improving SUstainability and PERformance of aquaculture farming system: breeding for lactococcosis resistance in rainbow TROUT

Acronym	SUPERTROUT (Reference Number: 2019-SECTION2-27)
Project Topic	This project will apply an innovative and sustainable strategy to face major challenges in rainbow trout small-scale farming system: 1) reduction of the economic losses due to the infectious disease lactococcosis and 2) improvement of the reproductive performances. This will be achieved adopting a farmer-centered approach involving multidisciplinary teams, using genetics (specifically, marker assisted selection) to breed for disease resistant animals and to cross different lines of brood-stock, and developing a bio-safe immunizing device based on recombinant proteins. One of the major losses affecting trout production are infectious diseases, especially when they strike down adult trout in grown-up stage. The use of genetically resistant stocks could represent an innovative solution for diseases control obtained through the active collaboration of researchers and local farmers, improving the stock sharing through highly experienced eyed-eggs producers and small-scale farmers. Technological innovation could also be reached through the development of recombinant vaccine better answering to the specific needs of the breeders, being more efficacious compared to traditional formalin-killed WC vaccines and safer, compared to live attenuated bacteria possibly reverting to becoming pathogenic. All the above mentioned innovations will contribute to a more sustainable aquaculture through antibiotic treatment reduction, preserving natural water environment and to a more profitable farming system reducing indirect costs related to disease management. Profitability will also increase exploiting the natural genetic features of the host for improving reproductive performance, balancing mortality possibly occurring in the farm for different reasons other than infectious diseases.
Network	PRIMA
Call	Section 2 Call 2019 - Multi-topic

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta	Coordinator	Italy
2	Università degli Studi di Udine	Partner	Italy
3	Azienda Agricola Canali Cavour S.S.	Partner	Italy
4	Universidad Complutense de Madrid. VISAVET HEALTH SURVEILLANCE CENTRE	Partner	Spain
5	ELGO-DEMETER Veterinary Research Institute	Partner	Greece
6	Surmene Faculty of Marine Sciences Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon	Partner	Türkiye