Impact case study database

An increase in the demand for fish coupled with over-exploitation of wild fish stocks has led to the strong growth of aquaculture globally (>50% of harvested fish already comes from aquaculture - FAO 2016; http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5555e.pdf). The application of genetic selection is essential for a modern profitable industry because of the need to avoid inbreeding (which results in a loss of fecundity and high incidence of deformities) and to drive generational gains in growth, disease resistance, feed efficiency, survival and flesh quality. Our basic research on the biology of fish muscle (described in section 2) found application through a series of collaborations with the salmon farming industry supported by UK Research Councils Link and Industrial Partnership grants (2000-2012). The research conducted and commercial contacts made led to the formation of an aquaculture genetics company called Xelect (2012-13). Xelect’s early activities centred around licensing genetic marker IP [patents 1 and 2 listed at the end of section 2 for increased fillet field and trade secrets for muscle number (2015)] that have been used to select Atlantic salmon with superior fillet yield and flesh quality for Chile (MultiExport Foods) and Canada (Cermaq).

Xelect management of breeding programs reduces costs and increases income: In 2016, the business expanded into providing complete management support for breeding programmes, and this now accounts for 80% of revenues. The company makes genetics affordable to even small and medium sized producers without them having to invest in the large interdisciplinary team needed to apply advanced breeding technologies. Xelect currently manages and supports breeding programmes in 14 countries involving 16 species on behalf of more than 25 companies, including a top six global salmon producer. Xelect’s services include the development of genetic tools, licensing IP, genotyping services, quantitative genetics calculations and practical hatchery support. The company supports pedigree-based combined family selection, marker assisted selection and genomic selection. The return on investment in genetics to producers is recognised to be very significant. “ Using Xelect’s markers, companies can add GBP600 to the value of a tonne of farmed salmon” (S1 page 1 column 3), and the net benefit for a single small breeding programme for sea bream was estimated at EUR2,900,000 over 10 years (S2 page 1 Abstract). Xelect has become an established brand within the aquaculture industry as evidenced by extensive coverage in the trade press (S3-S6).

Xelect techniques improve quality selection for farmed fish: Xelect has developed techniques to measure soft flesh and gaping (R3), leading to quality control processes that have been adopted by Mowi (world’s largest salmon producer), Dawnfresh (UK’s largest sea trout producer), Young’s Seafood (UK) and Pacific Seafoods (USA) (major processor and integrated producer respectively) for their routine quality assessments during processing. This has enabled companies to assess the impact of production practices, e.g. growth, harvest time, and feeding regimes on flesh quality losses, supplementing gains made through genetic selection (S7).

Contributing to the Economy of the UK and global aquaculture: By July 2020 Xelect employed a team of 15 people (headcount: 15; FTEs: 15; 11 with PhDs) including aquaculture specialists, quantitative geneticists, molecular biologists, bioinformaticians and computer scientists. The company had sales revenues approximately GBP1,200,000 per year by year-end 2020 (approximately 90% exports) and was profitable with no borrowings. Xelect has successfully adapted its operations in response to Covid-19 resulting in new ways of working. Five new strategic partnership contracts have been signed in 2020 with companies operating in Greece, Kenya, Portugal, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. Since genetic gain is only achieved in each generation, which is 4 years for salmon, the first quantitative validation of simulated genetic gains will only be available at the end of 2021.

Improving hatchery management: Xelect developed software between 2017 and 2020 that contributes to better hatchery management across the aquaculture industry. The software considers Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs), relatedness and non-genetic factors such as biomass, weight, sex, and photoperiod regime to optimally configure each spawning tank in the hatchery, resulting in increases in growth of 8-15% in offspring whilst maintaining strict inbreeding control. The software is in routine use across hatcheries in Croatia, Greece, Mexico, and Australia. The director of the Group Hatcheries sector for Selonda Aquaculture noted “ Xelect has helped us make significant progress in improving the genetic diversity of our broodstock and solving the complex organisational challenges of breeding group-spawning species ... to produce faster-growing and robust production fish with improved feed efficiency” (S8). The freshwater manager for Loch Duart Ltd noted “ It is through the use of their expert services that Loch Duart have been able to transform our broodstock program to help benefit the stock” (S9).

Protecting endemic wild fish stocks: Some salmonid species are farmed as all-female triploids which are sterile such that escapees cannot interbreed with wild stocks and reduce their fitness. Efforts to produce sterile triploid eggs by commercial breeders are rarely 100% effective. The Xelect next day triploidy testing service based on flow cytometry enables producers of sterile trout, artic charr, and salmon eggs to ship their product to customers with an independent certificate of the average ploidy. Xelect is the only company in Europe offering triploidy testing and has 100% of the market, carrying out more than 7,000 determinations each year for breeding companies in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and the UK. In addition, we routinely test batches of eggs supplied to Dawnfresh the UK’s largest trout producer to ensure they are 100% triploid and all-female (using a molecular sex determination method).