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Genetically improved farmed tilapia: the GIFT that keeps on giving

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Bangkok, Thailand ;

Pages 7p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Today, tilapia is the second most cultured fish species in the world. After 28 years of selective breeding, WorldFish’s genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) is now producing its twenty third generation and is being used by 17 governments around the world. The GIFT strain has improved by nearly 10 percent in growth performance per generation. The selective breeding method has also been successfully applied to other tilapia species, Indian major carps and Chinese silver carp. GIFT yields were significantly higher than non-GIFT yields and GIFT species were more profitable and cost-effective than non-GIFT species. WorldFish has commenced selecting GIFT for resilience against pathogens, for improved feed conversion efficiency and better growth under low oxygen conditions, using DNA-based approaches and genomic tools.

Language English

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