Thomas Gitterle of Colombia investigates this research question in his doctoral dissertation for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) in Ås, Norway. The dissertation is based on a selective breeding programme for Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) established in 1997 by CENIACUA, a commercial shrimp producer in Colombia, with scientific assistance from AKVAFORSK. Gitterle's study focussed on whether serious diseases in shrimp could be combated by selective breeding to improve the shrimps' resistance or tolerance to White Spot Syndrome Virus. WSSV is a virus that has set shrimp production back many years along the Pacific coast of Colombia and throughout the entire Pacific region.
This is the first time a study such as this has been conducted on shrimp. The study showed that it is possible to increase the ability of shrimp to resist the virus through a targeted selective breeding programme, indicating that in time the shrimp farming industry will be able to cope with this deadly virus. The study also determined which combination of infection model and statistical model is best suited for use in selecting the most disease-resistant shrimp parents for future generations.
The title of Gitterle's dissertation is "Genetic analyses for resistance to White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), harvest body weight and pond survival in the Pacific white shrimp Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei", and his doctoral lecture is entitled "The design of breeding schemes for disease resistance in marine species". The defence of Gitterle's dissertation took place 4 May in Ås, Norway.
