Benchmark Genetics and the University of Chile (Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences) have formed a strategic partnership to develop mutually beneficial R&D projects. The agreement was signed on the 2nd of December during the ISGA XIV conference in Puerto Varas, Chile.
This framework agreement will cover collaborative projects focused on developing genetic and biotechnology solutions to tackle sustainability challenges in the aquaculture industry. This will include improving selection for resistance to key disease threats to the Chilean salmon industry, improving the definition of resistance phenotypes, and harnessing the latest genomic and gene editing technologies.
The partnership builds on the successful historical collaboration between the two institutions, including shortlisting for the prestigious Newton Prize in 2018 for work on sea lice and SRS resistance in Chile.
Dr. Ross Houston, Director of Innovation in Benchmark Genetics, says:
“This agreement adds to the extensive and successful collaborative research and innovation program of Benchmark Genetics. We are pleased to be working together with the world-leading aquaculture research group of Dr. Yanez and colleagues at the University of Chile. Benchmark Genetics sees such collaborations as a cornerstone of successful science and knowledge translation in aquaculture.”
Dr. Jose Yanez, Director of Research and Development of the Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science at the University of Chile, says:
“As one of the world’s leading aquaculture genetics and genomics research teams, we are pioneering applied research into the use of genomic tools to improve aquaculture production across a wealth of species. We expect that the partnership with Benchmark, a leading biotechnology company, will enable our research to be translated into applied genetics programs to benefit the salmon industry. “
“This partnership further underlines Benchmark Genetics’ commitment to the Chilean aquaculture industry, with the expectation that outputs from the research will be rapidly translated into practice to provide further improvements to the performance of our lines in Chilean production systems,” concludes Ross Houston.
