South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium
Emerging Technologies - Current Research

Emerging Technologies research archives

Title: Development of cDNA Micro-assays for Analysis of Environmental Stressors and Disease in Local Populations of Atlantic White Shrimp, Litopenaeus setiferus

Investigator(s): Dr. Paul Gross and Dr. Jonas Almeida, Medical University of South Carolina grossp@musc.edu; almeidaj@musc.edu

Description: This continuing proposal will further their efforts on the development of cDNA micro-arrays as a tool for analyzing environmental stressors and disease. These arrays are a new and relatively untested technology. The proposed research will apply this new technology to local populations of the commercially important species of white shrimp, Litopenaeus setiferus, which is a keystone species in South Carolina estuarine systems. Two key objectives of the project are to: (1) collect and analyze functional genomic data to understand their physiological interaction with the environment using bioinformatic-based approaches; and (2) train new researchers, particularly graduate students, in the new and emerging technologies associated with “eco-genomics.” After the initial year, three graduate students in the Medical University of South Carolina’s Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Science Program have been successfully trained in the use of “eco-genomics” technologies.