Scientists of the Chennai-based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA) have sequenced and assembled the whole genome of Indian white shrimp Penaeus indicus .
It is considered a milestone in the country because Penaeus indicus is a native species and one of the world’s most important seafood commodities.
“The whole genome decoding would shift the focus to the native Indian white shrimp [ Penaeus indicus ] and reduce the dependence on Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei , from the U.S., which has been the major species farmed in India,” said M.S. Shekhar, principal scientist, Genetics and Biotechnology Division, and the leader of the team that achieved the breakthrough.
The other members of the team are Vinaya Kumar Katneni, Ashok Kumar Jangam and K.K. Vijayan.
The project was financially supported by ICAR-Consortium Research Platform on Genomics and coordinated by J.K. Jena, Deputy Director-General (Fisheries Science), ICAR.
Mr. Shekhar said the breakthrough would help to evolve strategies for control and prevention of the white spot syndrome virus disease, a major problem faced by shrimp farmers, as ICAR-CIBA had already decoded the genome of the virus.
Economic engine
The scientists said shrimp was the economic engine of the seafood exports in India and it accounted for ₹40,000 crore in national income, about 75% of the value of the seafood exports.
The Indian shrimp industry accounts for about 11% of the global production (7,59,906 tonnes valued at $4 billion in 2019).
“This important genomic resource will help in enhancing the growth potential, reproduction and maturation in captivity. Further, it will pave the way for producing more shrimp at low cost by intervening in the nutritional requirement of the shrimp,” said K.P. Jithendran, Acting Director, CIBA.
He said the whole genome sequence of shrimp would be an invaluable genomic resource for researchers and shrimp-breeders.
“It would serve as a reference genome for future genetic improvement programmes for developing shrimps with desired economically important traits,” he added.
