Bhubaneswar: The ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) is set to build a bio-secured genome-editing research facility at its Kausalyaganga campus here. The new infrastructure is expected to help make freshwater aquaculture more productive and disease-resilient, CIFA sources said.The facility will include eight concrete tanks, a hatching pool, a hatchery and bio-secured containment facilities for genome-editing experiments. A concrete working platform and other containment systems are being developed to ensure that experimental fish remain securely confined and are not unintentionally released into natural water bodies.CIFA director Pramoda Kumar Sahoo said the initiative would strengthen the institute’s efforts to develop fish varieties with improved productivity and resilience. A budget of Rs 5 crore has been allocated for the project. Work has begun and is expected to be completed by Nov. “Genome editing offers an opportunity to address some of the major challenges in freshwater aquaculture, including growth, disease resistance and better edible flesh yield. Our focus is on developing technologies that can ultimately improve the productivity and profitability of fish farming,” Sahoo said.Researchers are working on rohu (Labeo rohita) and catla (Catla catla), exploring genome-editing approaches aimed at improving growth characteristics, edible flesh yield and disease resistance, he added. The institute is expanding its containment systems because of environmental concerns associated with genome-edited aquatic organisms. “The bio-security component is equally important. The experimental fish have to remain within controlled facilities, and the infrastructure is being strengthened to ensure strict containment,” Sahoo said.