Rapid diagnostic testing for marine velvet disease, Amyloodinium ocellatum: a potential game changer for disease prevention and economic gain for fisheries and aquaculture

One of the most prominent challenges for the safe cultivation and maintenance of animals is control of infectious diseases. A. ocellatum is a parasitic infection that impacts all fish within the wide environmental range resulting in mass moralities in captivity. With a broad host and geographic range, all fish in aquaculture ($10B annually), aquarium trade species ($278M annually), and conservation species ($7.6B), or a total of $18B annually are susceptible to A. ocellatum. Due to its rapid onset, there are often no signs of infestation before mortalities begin to appear within a system, making it imperative to diagnose and treat as early as possible. Current methodologies for detecting A. ocellatum are insufficient to circumvent outbreaks. This project builds on two innovative approaches proven successful in our Phase I project: (1) Using Base Pair’s patented VENNMultiplex SELEX™ approach we will develop aptamers that are selective for the dinospore and trophont phases of the parasite and (2) develop a pre- and final filtration device to reduce contaminants and concentrate infectious particles water to enhance detection limits.