Hendrix teams up with Roslin
Improving the disease resistance of farmed salmon via selected breeding is one of the main aims of new a research agreement between the Roslin Institute and Hendrix Genetics.
The agreement, which was announced this morning, builds on existing collaborations in salmon disease genetics between the two organisations. The Roslin Institute, which is part of the University of Edinburgh, already works closely with the salmon breeding company Landcatch, a Hendrix Genetics company based in Argyll, and the new partnership will strengthen and extend this relationship. It will allow them to explore precision breeding technology, not only in aquaculture, but also in pig, chicken and turkey breeding.
Dr Johan van Arendonk, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at Hendrix Genetics, said: “This partnership with Roslin – a world leading research institute – offers a unique opportunity to improve our breeding programmes through applied research projects using the latest genomic technology.”
Professor Bruce Whitelaw, Deputy Director and Head of the Division of Developmental Biology at The Roslin Institute, said: “We are excited about building on our long-term relationship with Landcatch through establishing this strategic partnership. Working with Hendrix Genetics across a number of commercial species offers exciting opportunities for the science that Roslin pioneers.”
Dr Ross Houston, a group leader in aquaculture genetics at Roslin, added: “This is an exciting development which will allow us to build on past successes with Hendrix Genetics Aquaculture, and facilitate new projects to improve disease resistance in salmon and other species through selective breeding.”
Dr Alastair Hamilton, senior scientist at Hendrix Genetics, will split his time between the Roslin Institute and the Hendrix Genetics as part of this partnership.
Building on past success
Previous collaboration between Landcatch and Roslin (alongside scientists at the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow, as well as the University of Edinburgh’s sequencing facility Edinburgh Genomics) yielded the discovery of a gene that makes salmon more resilient to IPN. It has also led to the development of genetic tools that have improved selective breeding for resistance to sea lice.
