Sturgeon sex determination traditionally takes place only after years of growth, care and feeding in aquaculture facilities. Depending on the species, this period can range from 5–6 years to almost 20 years. For this reason, being able to identify females at an early stage is crucial, as only females produce caviar.
Until now, sex has mostly been determined by ultrasound, an invasive technique that can only be applied at relatively advanced stages of development.
A new tool that greatly simplifies this process: only a small tissue or blood sample is required, from which a sex-specific genetic marker is analysed using PCR.
The development of this method was carried out in collaboration with Caviar Riofrío (Osborne Group), which provided sturgeon samples to validate the technology.
The method has been successfully validated on 296 reference samples from several sturgeon species and is currently protected by a patent application.
Sectors: Fisheries and aquaculture sector, Technology 4.0
Research lines: Biotechnology, Blue Economy, Efficient, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, Food Quality and Safety
Research sublines: Aquaculture, Quality and traceability