All-female monosex culture in the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii – A comparative large-scale field study

Production of WW males lacking the masculine Z chromosome and mining the Macrobrachium rosenbergii genome for sex-chromosomes

“…In penaeid shrimps, such as Litopenaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon , adult females are usually larger than males 2,5–7 and therefore all-female shrimp culture would seem advantageous. In contrast, in Macrobrachium rosenbergii , a freshwater prawn species characterized by three different male morphotypes of different sizes 8 , the largest specimens at harvest are found within the male population 4,9 , and, therefore, all-male aquaculture would appear to be beneficial 10–12 . Since genetic sex-determination in M .…”

“…The appeal of all-female M . rosenbergii culture is strengthened even further by the more uniform body size in the all-female cultures 4 . Nonetheless, despite the substantial progress made to date, a more efficient way to produce WW super females was needed to fulfill the commercial potential of all-female M .…”

“…Nonetheless, the production of monosex populations has the potential to improve the aquaculture of many species 2,3 . In crustacean species, in particular, a significant advantage in the cultivation of monosex populations is conferred by growth rate dimorphism, leading to significantly different male and female body weights at harvest 4,5 , where the differences in body weight between the sexes may be attributed to either physiological or behavioral traits 5 . In penaeid shrimps, such as Litopenaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon , adult females are usually larger than males 2,5–7 and therefore all-female shrimp culture would seem advantageous.…”

Multi-Tissue Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Key Sexual Development-Related Genes of the Ornate Spiny Lobster (Panulirus ornatus)

“…In only one species to date, a full functional sex change was induced by IAG silencing [ 43 ] or injection of AG cells [ 44 ], utilizing genetic sex markers to trace the sex-changed individuals [ 45 ]. This has generated a very significant value in the ability to produce monosex populations of the commercially important giant freshwater prawn M. rosenbergii [ 43 , 44 , 46 , 47 ]. The freshwater prawn monosex aquaculture has opened many new opportunities for utilizing this genus in new niches, which extend beyond aquaculture and into disease management [ 48 ].…”

Prawn aquaculture as a method for schistosomiasis control and poverty alleviation: a win-win approach to address a critical infectious disease of poverty

“…The giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii has been domesticated and widely used in commercial hatchery-based aquaculture 19 , providing both a key source of protein and encouraging local economic development 20 . Furthermore, advances in the production of nonbreeding M. rosenbergii monosex populations reduces the risk of prawn invasion in areas this species is not native, suggesting safe use of this biological control agent globally 21,22 . In sub-Saharan Africa, where at least 90% of schistosomiasis cases occur 1,23 , the native African river prawn M. vollenhovenii has been proposed as an alternative to M. rosenbergii for aquaculture 21 .…”