Proposed Implementation

The main end users are oyster farmers. We developed the test by exchanging with them and by thinking about the constraints they have and we plan to set up the test with them to meet their demand as well as possible.

Because we can adapt our test to many other pathogens, the idea is first to propose it to all shellfish producers, not only the oyster farmers. In addition, private companies and veterinarians might be interested. In fact, nowadays, they only have time-consuming technologies to detect shell pathogens in water samples. Moreover, because they have to use specific laboratory equipment, they cannot conduct the test directly near the lagoon or sea. We also identified the national institutions as potential users for the same reason as private companies and veterinarians. Finally, selling our test to the other shellfish producing countries would be our final goal. In fact, they are all affected by shellfish infections. (For more information about the part each user represents go on the financial plan of our product.)

Using our test is quite simple and no scientific knowledge is necessary to perform it. Moreover, we produced a user manual, for oyster farmers to perform the test correctly. In addition to that, we planned to provide helpwith the result analysis. Very rapidly, we will develop an intuitive app that will instantaneously quantify the signal and provide a result (negative or positive) to the user. In addition, users will be enrolled (after approval) in a participative science program that will collect the date, location and quantitative results. Collection of these data will provide an observatory of contaminations in the Thau Lagoon (and potentially beyond) and will be precious to improve our understanding of spatial and temporal contamination spreading. : Here is how it will work (see figure 1):

Before implementing our product in the real world and before selling it to non-scientists, we need to consider safety aspects. First, one of our personal constraints from the beginning was to avoid spreading GMO in nature. This is why we designed a project avoiding that. Indeed, the buffer that contains all the reactants to perform the test does not contain any GMO. Secondly, we have to take into account the risks related to the use of chemical products. The reaction solutions come from MileniaBiotec, in the description of the kit we use for our paper-test, they provide a safety document. The conclusion of this document is that there is no particular risk concerning the product. Solutions are not dangerous for humans and for the environment. However, wearing gloves and a lab coat is recommended. What we can recommend to users of our test is to wear gloves (they can be provided with the test) and to wear clothing that will only be used to perform the test. Concerning the environmental impact of the test, because the paper-strip and the holder of the test contain plastic, users have to avoid throwing it in nature: this issue is mentioned in the user manual.

• One challenge we need to consider is the possibility of having false positives or false negatives results. We would need to do more tests to be able to define the specificity of our test and to find the probability to have such results. However, the control band is a first way to detect these problems.
• Deploying the test in the real world is good, but if a test is positive, what can we offer to users to prevent production loss ? For the moment, no kind of vaccine or drug exists to protect oysters against infection. Knowing what to do if oyster farmers detect the presence of the pathogen has to be elucidated. By speaking with researchers and shellfish farmers we learned that they can store oysters on top deposit, avoid stressing oysters during a certain period, modify the date when oyster farmers glue oysters on their support, reduce the immersion time but none of these solutions is scientifically approved. This lack of knowledge to take preventive actions is the main motivation to launch a participative science program. By modeling the results, we hope to understand how contamination spreads in the Lagoon, find rules to position oyster beds and avoid contamination from one bed to another, and decipher appropriate quarantine times for the contamination to resorb…
• The patent that protects SHERLOCK detection technique is also something to highly consider.