Head of Laboratory: Dr. Ir. Triyanto, M.Si.
Fish disease is one of the main inhibiting factors in fish farming activities, which impacts productivity and has the potential to threaten the sustainability of fishery resources. The occurrence of this disease is influenced by the complex interaction between fish health conditions, the presence of pathogens, and the environment that supports the development of the disease. To support the management of fish health and the aquatic environment, the Fish Health and the Environment Laboratory (LKHIL) is present as the center for implementing the tridharma of higher education, which includes educational activities, research, and community service in the field of fish pests and diseases. LKHIL consists of the Experimental Room on Fish Disease Infection and Hidrobiology, which is equipped with adequate facilities for virology, parasitology, bacteriology, histology, and molecular biology research.
Educational Activities
The Fish Health and the Environment Laboratory has a strategic role in supporting the educational process through the teaching of several courses and practicums that focus on aquatic biota and fish health. The courses managed include Aquatic Plants, Aquatic Animals, Fish Parasites and Diseases, Fish Health Management, and Histology. In the Aquatic Plants practicum, students learn to identify various types of aquatic plants morphologically and molecularly, as well as analyze the content of active compounds (metabolites) contained therein. The Aquatic Animals practicum includes identification activities and physiological studies of fish and shrimp as the main cultivated organisms. The Fish Parasites and Diseases practicum presents extensive material, ranging from observation and identification of parasites (parasitology), analysis of bacterial diseases through isolation, characterization, and Koch’s postulate tests (bacteriology), identification of pathogenic fungi (mycology), to identification of viruses using molecular methods and River’s postulates (virology). This practicum is designed to form a comprehensive understanding of disease-causing agents in fish and shrimp. The Fish Health Management practicum discusses the fish’s defense system, vaccine production and administration, and evaluation of vaccine effectiveness through titer tests. Students also learn the responsible use of antibiotics through sensitivity tests, MIC, MBC, and practical fish treatment. Pathogen detection techniques are carried out using PCR, RT-PCR, and ELISA methods, and antibiotic levels in fish tissue are measured. Histology practicums involve technical stages ranging from tissue handling and fixation, tissue preparation, embedding, slicing, staining, to mounting. Slide reading is carried out to understand the structure of normal tissue and tissue that has changed due to disease.
The entire series of practicums is designed comprehensively to strengthen students’ laboratory skills and support scientific development in the field of fish health and aquatic environments.
Research Activities
Research in the laboratory is funded by various research funds both domestically and abroad. Domestic grant funds include Research Grants from the Faculty of Agriculture UGM, UGM through the Final Project Recognition Grant, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology through the Superior Basic Research Grant for Higher Education, Master’s Research Grants, Dissertation Grants, Master’s Research and Education Grants towards a Doctorate for Excellent Graduates, and industry. Grant funds from foreign institutions include ACIAR (Australia), Erasmus (EU), TB Global Alliance (USA), FeedBest (Korea), CJ Feed and Care (Korea), and Cheil Jedang (Korea). In the field of research, the laboratory has studied various aspects of fish and shrimp diseases. For parasitic diseases, the morphological and molecular identification of various parasitic diseases in fish and shrimp has been studied, as well as studies on the prevalence and intensity of parasites in the field. For bacterial diseases, researchers have worked on identifying and studying different harmful bacteria in fish and shrimp from both fresh and saltwater, such as Aeromonas spp., Vibrio spp., Streptococcus spp., Photobacterium spp., and Edwardsiella spp as well as examining the pathogenesis through immune system and gene expression analysis. From this research, a vaccine has been created to fight the disease, which has been patented and developed in partnership with vaccine and drug companies include PT Revealium Indonesia and PT Caprifarmindo Laboratories. For viral diseases, characterization of various viruses in fish and shrimp has been carried out, including koi herpesvirus (KHV), Nervous Necrosis Virus (NNV), Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV), Megalocystivirus/ spleen and kidney infection necrosis virus (ISKNV), Tilapia Lake Virus (TILV), Lymphocystis Disease Virus (LCDV). The development of detection methods for various types of viruses Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification of DNA (LAMP), Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) has been carried out. From several virus genes, various recombinant proteins VNN, LCDV, and KHV have been produced and have been developed as vaccine proteins that are protective against viral disease infections.
Service Activities
Community service is carried out in the form of services to farmers who come to the laboratory, as a resource person in various extensions, training. Extension is carried out in collaboration with the Service, KKN students, NGOs. Training is carried out in the form of workshops (national and international) internships for researchers from universities and other institutions. The LKHIL laboratory has also assisted the Fisheries Service in the Province of DIY and Districts; Districts to monitor fish health and the environment in various cultivation areas and to disseminate the results of the monitoring. The laboratory has also held various trainings related to diseases and molecular biology with resource persons from the laboratory and experts from abroad.
