MIPS Project Challenge:
The MIPS project focused on feed for aquaculture, a fast-growing food sector. Producers traditionally use wild-caught forage fish to meet the protein demand for aquaculture, but this practice is not sustainable. Many aquafeed producers are using soymeal to partially replace fishmeal. Soy-based protein is cheaper than fishmeal, but it is deficient in methionine and lacks taurine, a nutrient critical for most high value fish. Plant Sensory Systems developed a biotechnology method to allow plants to produce taurine. The resulting product can be used as an effective aquaculture feed. The expected product is a plant seed that can be used to produce a plant-based feed with low-leaching and high bioavailability taurine. PSS needed validation and proof that its approach could yield an effective feed for aquaculture.

Project Scope:
Soybean seeds were generated to make taurine-containing soymeal that can be sold to aquafeed producers as a fishmeal substitute. The leaching rate and bioavailability of taurine was measured in feeding studies and compared across aquafeed made from different types of seed lots to verify this new approach. This MIPS project provided data on the effectiveness of the inclusion of the company’s technology in terms of reducing taurine leaching from feed and improving taurine bioavailability for fish. Successful completion of the MIPS project validated taurine biosynthesis and accumulation in soybean seeds and demonstrated its effectiveness as dietary taurine for aquafeed. The information provided credibility to the aquaculture industry and expedited the product’s path to market.