Hatching and culturing of Artemia axenically or with a known microflora under strictly controlled environmental parameters. Access to in vitro facilities for human and fish cell lines
The Artemia gnotobiotic tool box or GART (Gnotobiotic ARTemia platform) refers to the methodology to hatch and culture Artemia axenically or with a known microflora under strictly controlled environmental parameters. By eliminating the complex interactions between the microbiological community, the environmental conditions and the target organism, the effect of the presence of a single or of few micro-organisms can be studied. GART thus allows for a more accurate assessment of the role of microbiota than xenic cultures. It is used to screen a variety of compounds with aquaculture potential, such as pre- and probiotics, feed components and immuno-stimulants. It offers the possibility to verify at high throughput and low cost in vitro findings under in vivo conditions prior to testing on a larger scale with commercial species.