Description

The "Sun Wukong" project, led by the School of Bioengineering at East China University of Science and Technology and jointly conducted by student teams from multiple departments within the university, aims to significantly reduce antibiotic dependence in aquaculture through innovative vaccine technologies and intelligent vaccination systems, driving the industry's transition toward sustainable development. Inspired by the character of Sun Wukong from China's classical novel “Journey to the West”, the project transforms his "72 transformations" of adaptability and breakthrough spirit into technical design concepts, demonstrating the deep integration of traditional wisdom and modern technology. Technically, our team successfully developed a novel vaccine delivery system responsive to specific light signals using gene editing technology. This system utilizes a biomimetic vaccine robot to achieve targeted penetration of fish immune barriers and precise activation of immune responses, thereby significantly enhancing disease resistance in fish. Meanwhile, the automated immersion inoculation equipment adopts high-efficiency, non-destructive designs to ensure high precision and scalability during inoculation, making it suitable for large-scale farming scenarios. Currently, the project has completed application verification at multiple national aquaculture demonstration bases. Practice has shown that this technological system effectively reduces antibiotic usage and decreases disease outbreak frequency, while simultaneously raising public awareness of aquatic disease prevention through cultural practices and science outreach activities. The project's achievements provide innovative solutions for marine ecological protection and global food security, showcasing the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing agricultural challenges.