Sponsored by Oregon Sea grant and in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, this project aims at developing a non lethal method to detect bacterial kidney disease in salmon. This disease is caused by Renibacterium salmoninarium (Rs) and can have devastating consequences particularly in hatchery settings. The approach used by ourresearch group is based on short wavelength near infrared spectroscopy (SW-NIR: 700-1100 nm). We are currently conducting challenge experiments where we inoculate fish with known dosages of Rs and follow the onset and development of the disease in real-time by routinely acquiring spectra on anesthetized fish. The presence of Rs in kidney tissues is verified by quantitative fluorescent antibody test (q-FAT). Our hope is to develop a non lethal screening method that recognizes presence of BKD in salmonids before development of external clinical signs.
The long-term goal of this project is to optimize caviar yield and quality from white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) at harvest. We are working on the development of a rapid and non invasive method based on short wavelength near infrared spectroscopy (SW-NIR) that has the potential to replace oocyte polarization index (PI), the only current means to assess ripeness of white sturgeon females which requires surgical biopsy. In this study abdominal scans are collected non invasively by SW-NIR on anesthetized females at different stages of maturation. In order to ascertain the presence of distinct spectral clusters associated with different degrees of maturation, spectral data are analyzed by Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA). Results from the first year of this study show that it is possible to classify females according to maturity status. This study is currently funded by the