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), 24 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 proposes two innovative approaches to develop a successful rapid diagnostic test for A. ocellatum: (1) utilization of a Next Generation approach of producing highly specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for A. ocellatum dinospores and trophonts and (2) developing a standard operating procedure to pre-treat and concentrate aquarium water to enhance detection limits. On-farm testing as well as high sensitivity make this product novel in the industry and would make it an invaluable tool worldwide for aquaculture, aquarium, and aquatic conservation industries.