Development of rapid tests for fish health in the Great Lakes and Finger lakes

Grant: # 1299

Grant Amount: $279,046.13

Board Decision Year: 2013

Cornell University - Office of Sponsored Programs (Ithaca)

Office of Sponsored Programs

GLFT - Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Fish Populations-C - Ecological and biological fisheries research to inform management

Project Details

Thiamine (vitamin B1) is essential for the health of all organisms. In the Great Lakes, deficiencies in thiamine have harmed valuable sport fisheries for naturalized Pacific salmon (e.g., Chinook, coho, and rainbow trout) and hampered restoration of native apex predators (e.g., lake trout, Atlantic salmon). These deficiencies result in an inability to spawn and cause muscular and neurological impairments of fry. The current method for thiamine quantification is high-performance liquid chromatography, which requires significant acquisition expense, a laboratory environment, considerable cost in maintenance, and a trained technician for operation. The purpose of this project was to develop a high-throughput microtiter plate-based assay for thiamine that would improve sample throughput and reduce expense. The researchers modified a standard approach to use proteins that specifically recognize thiamine and release fluorescent dye when thiamine is present. This method is highly efficient at distinguishing between thiamine and its analogues, and can identify thiamine at very low concentrations. Up to 96 samples can be tested in less than an hour. This laboratory-based method could readily be expanded to a 384-well format, allowing for higher throughput. Also developed was a point-of-use strip assay yielding a visibly-colored line, with its intensity representing the concentration of thiamine.

Documents

Final Report

View - Project_1299_final_report.doc