Dr Amir Sagi, Ph.D., a professor at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, has received the 2013 Novus Global Aquaculture Innovation Award.
Dr Sagi’s innovation involves a novel biotechnology application to produce all male populations of the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii through temporal RNA interference.
Twenty years of physiological and molecular research on the androgenic gland are behind the biotechnology used to produce all-male crustacean populations. Dr Sagi’s research culminated with the discovery of the insulin-like androgenic hormone in decapod crustaceans. Now, for the first time, this technology is available to commercial Macrobrachium rosenbergii farmers worldwide.
“The beauty of our biotechnology lies in the fact that it represents the first commercialisation of temporal RNA interference with no use of chemicals, hormones or generation of genetic modifications,” said Dr Sagi. “To sustain its rapid growth, the aquaculture industry will need to consistently introduce the latest scientific developments and innovative technologies. I am confident that the R&D community will propose many more such applications in the near future.”
The six judges selected Dr. Sagi’s innovation as the winner because its application addressed a key obstacle in the production of Macrobrachium rosenbergii — manual sorting of juveniles by gender.
This inaugural award was presented on 9 October, during the GOAL 2013 conference held in Paris, France. Dr Sagi's innovation was selected from a pool of 16 entries representing 11 countries.
