Benchmark has already pioneered the appliance of a number of reproductive applied sciences, together with cryopreservation, all-female triploid populations, and year-round land-based ova manufacturing. The brand new R&D group will deal with the following technology of such applied sciences, together with sterility with out triploidy, stopping precocious maturation in farmed manufacturing and commercial-scale functions of gene enhancing to enhance efficiency and well being, corresponding to genetic resistance to illnesses.
Dr Diego Crespo is the newest recruit to the group, becoming a member of on 1 August from the Institute of Marine Analysis in Bergen, Norway (IMR). He brings over 15 years of expertise of fish copy and biotechnology, together with utilizing CRISPR gene enhancing to focus on sterility. Crespo will keep his robust hyperlinks with IMR in joint tasks, supporting a serious collaboration between the 2 organisations on this area. This features a lately funded collaborative venture from the Norwegian Analysis Council, “Accelerated genetic enchancment of key traits in farmed Atlantic salmon by way of transplantation of in vitro propagated germline stem cells”.
Dr Zhiqiang Zeng and Stefan Eggertsson joined the group earlier within the 12 months. Zeng brings over 20 years of expertise of in developmental biology, transgenics and gene enhancing. Eggertsson is a latest masters graduate, with experience in molecular biology and gene enhancing in mannequin organisms. The group will likely be centred round state-of-the-art analysis services in Reykjavík, Iceland, underneath the management of Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, and benefiting from the year-round Atlantic salmon copy from the industrial breeding programme.
“We see breakthroughs in reproductive applied sciences and their integration with commercial-scale breeding programmes as a serious frontier in innovation for utilized aquaculture genetics,” mentioned Dr Ross Houston, Benchmark’s director of genetics and innovation, in a press launch.
“With our strategic enlargement in R&D on this space, we’re consolidating our place as a number one firm on this space globally, poised to carry these breakthroughs to clients to learn trade sustainability, animal well being and welfare. We obtain this by strategic collaboration with world-leading analysis teams and focused inner packages of close-to-market analysis and commercial-scale product improvement,” he added.
