PCR ANALYSES TO ESTIMATE BITTER CRAB DISEASE PREVALENCE AND DRIVERS

***THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION’S (NOAA’s) ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-BOULDER, ALASKA FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (AFSC), INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH THE VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES FOR NON-PERSONAL POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) ANALYSES TO ESTIMATE THE PREVALENCE AND DRIVERS OF BITTER CRAB DISEASE.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON NOAA’S REQUIREMENT THAT THE VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES IS THE ONLY VENDOR ABLE TO PERFORM REQUIRED SERVICES.  THE VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES LABORATORY IS WELL EQUIPPED TO BOTH REPLICATE CONVENTIONAL PCR METHODS FROM PAST STUDIES AS WELL AS DEVELOP A QPCR ASSAY FOR FUTURE STUDIES. ALSO, DR. HAMISH SMALL, AT THE VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES, IS A MOLECULAR PATHOLOGIST AND LEADING EXPERT IN MARINE PARASITOLOGY, DISEASE ECOLOGY, AND HEMATODINIUM CRAB DISEASE SYSTEMS, AND HAS PREVIOUSLY DESIGNED SEVERAL DIAGNOSTIC PCR ASSAYS FOR HEMATODINIUM SPP. DR. HAMISH SMALL HAS HIGHLY SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE THAT IS CRITICAL TO THE INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS WHICH IMPACTS THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT. MOLECULAR TECHNICIANS AT THE VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES ARE HIGHLY SKILLED AND EXPERIENCED IN USING PCR ASSAYS TO DETECT VIRAL, BACTERIAL, ANDPROTISTAN INFECTIONS IN COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT SHELLFISH, AND CAN DEVOTE LARGE PORTIONS OF TIME TO THIS PROJECT.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:  SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 THRUOGH FEBRUARY 28, 2025

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