Rutgers’ Disease-Resistant Oysters Offer Hope to Canadian Growers

A new licensing agreement brings disease-resistant mollusks to an industry facing major losses

Rutgers University has signed an exclusive licensing agreement to bring its disease-resistant oysters to Canadian hatcheries and farmers facing substantial losses from disease outbreaks.

Ximing Guo displays selectively bred oysters in his laboratory. A new licensing agreement allows Atlantic Aqua Farms to distribute disease-resistant oysters developed by Guo and his team to Canadian hatcheries, where they can be used to breed the next generation of farmed oysters.

The agreement is with Atlantic Aqua Farms, a major North American producer of farmed shellfish based in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The company operates oyster hatcheries, nurseries and growing grounds in Atlantic Canada, Maine and Virginia, with its U.S. central distribution facility in Eliot, Maine.

The agreement, executed by the Rutgers Office for Research, gives the company rights to distribute Rutgers-developed broodstock in Canada. Broodstock are adult oysters used for producing oyster seed, while oyster seed are young oysters that farmers raise to market size.

The oysters were developed by Ximing Guo, a Distinguished Professor with the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and his team. The agreement will help expand Canadian growers' access to the disease-resistant strains.

"This was the first year that oyster seed from Rutgers' strains is being exported to Canada, providing a pathway for Canadian farmers to access improved, disease-resistant oysters at a time when they urgently need support," Guo said. "Canadian oyster farmers have suffered major losses from diseases, and the new license agreement allows Atlantic Aqua Farms to distribute Rutgers broodstock to them."

According to Guo, Rutgers' broodstock has performed well in Maine, where it accounts for more than 90% of the oyster seed. Maine borders Canada and has similar environmental conditions, giving Guo reason to expect the Rutgers oysters to perform well in Canadian waters, too.

From a Rutgers Lab to U.S. and Canadian Waters

The Canadian agreement builds on decades of oyster research at Rutgers.

Guo, an honored life member of the National Shellfisheries Association and director of Rutgers' shellfish genetics and breeding program since 1998, has been studying oysters since his undergraduate years in the 1980s. In 1993, he and Standish Allen, working at Rutgers' Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, invented tetraploid oysters, which have four sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two.

Canadian oyster farmers have suffered major losses from diseases, and the new license agreement allows Atlantic Aqua Farms to distribute Rutgers broodstock to them.

Ximing Guo

Distinguished Professor, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Crossing these oysters with ordinary oysters allows breeders to reliably produce triploid oysters on a commercial scale. Triploid oysters have three sets of chromosomes and are sterile, meaning they don't reproduce. They grow faster and maintain high meat quality in summer, making them valuable to oyster farmers.

They account for over 50% of farmed oysters worldwide.

"Oysters have been farmed for more than 2,000 years, dating back to ancient Rome, and they remain central to the culture and economy of many coastal communities around the world," said Guo. "They also play a critical ecological role: oysters filter the water, improve water quality and build reefs that create habitat for countless other species."

Guo's research focuses on the biology and genetics of molluscan shellfish, especially oysters, clams, and scallops. He and his team strive to improve oyster aquaculture by studying how they grow, reproduce and survive in the challenging conditions of estuaries, and how their genes and evolutionary history shape their biology. He and colleagues have led genome research in several oyster species.

"One of our major achievements was decoding the oyster genome and cataloging its genes," said Guo. "To our surprise, oysters have about 50% more genes than humans, and their genes are roughly ten times more variable. This large and highly diverse gene set helps oysters adapt to the constantly changing conditions of coastal environments. It also explains why oysters are extremely sensitive to inbreeding-a discovery that shaped our breeding strategies."

Oysters, according to Guo, produce high-quality seafood with no feed, no pesticides, no fertilizer, no freshwater use and no land conversion. They clean the water, and the farming gear provides habitat for other species. He believes aquaculture is the future of seafood production, and oyster and bivalve aquaculture will be at the forefront of that future.

"I studied aquaculture as an undergraduate in China, where it has a long history and is deeply woven into the culture," he said. "I became convinced that as land resources become increasingly strained, aquaculture holds enormous, untapped potential for supporting food security and human health. Oyster aquaculture-and bivalve aquaculture more broadly-is one of the greenest major food production systems."

In 2023, Canadian oyster farming produced about 15,000 metric tons of oysters valued at more than 66 million Canadian dollars (about $46.59 million), according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The demand for disease-resistant oysters is high. Following a CBC News article, Atlantic Aqua Farms immediately received orders for more than 50 million of the Rutgers-developed oyster seed. The company made operational changes to hatchery production to produce and export more than 100 million of the seed to Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

The volume of seed still did not meet the demand from oyster farmers in these provinces.

"Atlantic Aqua Farms is excited to have the exclusive opportunity to distribute the breeding materials from Rutgers disease-resistant oysters, developed by Dr. Guo, to other hatcheries in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick," said Meredith White, director of hatchery operations at the company.

For Canadian growers, the aim is to produce oysters that can withstand several diseases at once.

"Hybridization of the Rutgers Haskin NEH MSX- and Dermo-resistant oysters with local Canadian oysters has the potential to produce seed that are resistant to MSX, Dermo, and Malpeque Disease, an oyster disease endemic to Atlantic Canada," White said.

The company has taken an initial step by bringing young oysters bred from Rutgers and Maine stock into Canada.

"For the current 2026 season, Atlantic Aqua Farms has already completed a successful project to produce and import triploid oyster seed produced with Rutgers Haskin NEH and Maine broodstock," White said. "This project has offered hope to over 60 Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick oyster growers who are reeling from the MSX and Dermo crisis, which began in 2024."

The seeds have performed extremely well so far, and the company is looking forward to evaluating the performance of seed produced with Rutgers Haskin NEH crossed with Prince Edward Island oysters in 2027, she said.

Technology Transfer Powers Commercialization

Getting Rutgers' breeding technology to growers also requires licensing expertise to establish how companies can use and distribute it.

"This licensing agreement would not be possible without the outstanding work from the Rutgers Office for Research, especially its Technology Transfer team," said Guo. "Their expertise, dedication and willingness to go the extra mile are crucial in bringing these technological advances to oyster farmers. We truly appreciate the professionalism, collaboration and consistent effort they bring every day."

The Canadian agreement builds on a longstanding collaboration between Guo and the team responsible for protecting and licensing his inventions.

"We are proud to support researchers like Dr. Guo, whose work is critical in addressing the challenges of today and tomorrow," said Deborah Perez Fernandez, executive director of the Technology Transfer unit within Rutgers' Office for Research. "We have long collaborated with Dr. Guo, from patenting his innovations to commercializing them with license agreements such as this one with Atlantic Aqua Farms. Our team is excited to see what Dr. Guo and his team accomplish next."

For Rutgers, the agreement also shows how research conducted in New Jersey can help address problems beyond the state's borders.

"Rutgers research serves the common good of New Jersey and beyond," said Michael E. Zwick, senior vice president for research at Rutgers. "The Office for Research is here to support the incredible work conducted by researchers like Dr. Guo so that they can focus on addressing the challenges that affect the world. This license agreement, executed by the Technology Transfer unit, is emblematic of our role at the nexus of academic research and innovation, industries and the issues facing us all."

To learn more about how the Office for Research supports the work of Rutgers researchers, visit research.rutgers.edu.