Professor David Raftos has been awarded the Rural Research and Development Corporations Eureka Prize for Rural Innovation for his pioneering work safeguarding and improving Australia’s iconic oyster industry.
Research by Professor Raftos and researchers at the Department of Biological Sciences promises disease protection for entire populations of oyster. Disease can wipe out an oyster population in a single day, which can mean ruin for small oyster farmers and hurt for the surrounding rural communities.
Working with oyster farmers along Australia’s east coast, Professor Raftos has already helped breed stronger, more disease-resistant oysters.
The next step may be to immunise entire crops of oysters against a particular virus. The team’s results show that immunising one oyster might also protect its descendants. Potentially, immunising just a few oysters could create a population of disease-resistant offspring.
If the selective-breeding approach works for Sydney rock oysters, Professor Raftos expects it will also work for other farmed marine creatures, from other oyster varieties to abalone and prawns.
“This prize is fantastic news because it rewards years of collaborative research with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Australian oyster farmers. It goes to show that you can do first-class fundamental research that has direct benefits to real people,” said Professor Raftos.
Research by Professor Raftos and researchers at the Department of Biological Sciences promises disease protection for entire populations of oyster. Disease can wipe out an oyster population in a single day, which can mean ruin for small oyster farmers and hurt for the surrounding rural communities.
Working with oyster farmers along Australia’s east coast, Professor Raftos has already helped breed stronger, more disease-resistant oysters.
The next step may be to immunise entire crops of oysters against a particular virus. The team’s results show that immunising one oyster might also protect its descendants. Potentially, immunising just a few oysters could create a population of disease-resistant offspring.
If the selective-breeding approach works for Sydney rock oysters, Professor Raftos expects it will also work for other farmed marine creatures, from other oyster varieties to abalone and prawns.
“This prize is fantastic news because it rewards years of collaborative research with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Australian oyster farmers. It goes to show that you can do first-class fundamental research that has direct benefits to real people,” said Professor Raftos.
