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Description
BREEDFLAT project aims to improve flatfish breeder’s performance by enhancing immune system capacity, largely affected during reproductive season, and gamete quality, by providing key-role nutrients for successful reproduction. Innovative approaches on the study of dietary effects will be attained to promote a sustainable competitive production of eggs and larvae. The consortium includes two Portuguese research teams, CCMAR (promoter) and CIIMAR, and the largest turbot producer, ACUINOVA. The Donor parties, Nord University, Akvaplan-niva, experienced in flatfish reproduction, and Sognaqua firm, will contribute with their experience in Atlantic halibut. This collaboration will enhance Portuguese centers (CCMAR, CIIMAR) performance with technology transfer from Nord (microRNAs, epigenetics), and strengthen future bilateral collaborations. The business sector (ACUINOVA) will gain from Norway experienced Aquaculture sector. The project focus in 3 important flatfish species for aquaculture diversification in Europe, Senegalese sole, turbot and Atlantic halibut, along 6 WPs. Specific breeders’ feed will be developed, considering each species’ nutritional requirements and efforts dedicated to gametogenesis. A tool-set of parameters will be developed, allowing characterization of reproductive and immune system performance. These tools will be used to evaluate the efficiency of natural feed products supplementation on the enhancement of reproduction and fish resistance. The final target is to achieve the improvement of offspring through a better nutrition to breeders. More robust juveniles will contribute to a next generation of breeders developed in captivity. These bases will provide a more sustainable Aquaculture diversification with high price commercial species, creating a benefit for fishfarms and feed suppliers in Europe, reducing economic and social disparities between donor and beneficiary states.
Summary of project results
Broodstock nutrition is essential for an optimal seed production, determining the failure or success of a sustainable production. During breeding in captivity, fish are exposed to a high energy demand affecting immune system and reproductive outcomes. Natural compounds rich in antioxidants and immunostimulants, such as micro and macroalgae, can be used as supplements for breeders’ feeds, being crucial for breeder fortification.
The BREEDFLAT project developed strategies to enhance breeders’ reproductive performance by improving 1) fish immune system capacity, largely affected during reproductive season, and 2) gamete quality, by providing key-role nutrients required for successful reproduction. These objectives were accomplished for the three flatfish species involved in the project, Atlantic halibut, turbot and Senegalese sole, using innovative approaches to study the dietary effects to promote a sustainable competitive production of eggs and larvae by fish farms. Several activities were carried out in the BREEDFLAT project, starting by the implementation of a tool-set of innovative techniques to characterize breeders’ reproductive performance and immune system under production scenarios. This tool-set composed by cellular, biochemical and molecular techniques including “omics”, was used to evaluate the efficiency of new breeders’ feed products incorporating specific supplementations obtained from sustainable sources. These supplements- the macroalgae Gracilaria gracilis and Laminaria digitata, and the microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Arthrospira platensis - were selected for their potential to enhance breeders’ reproductive performance and immune system.
The know-how generated by programmed nutrition in BREEDFLAT project, provided a tool to companies to produce higher quality larvae and more robust juveniles, that by closing the production cycle will contribute to a next generation of breeders produced in captivity. The creation of such bases opened an opportunity for a more sustainable aquaculture production and diversification, using high price commercial species, such as the flatfish, creating a benefit for fish farms. Specific products to feed Senegalese sole, turbot and halibut breeders were developed, taking into consideration nutritional requirements for each species and the extra energy cost dedicated to gametogenesis and reproduction under commercial scenarios (enlargement of reproductive cycles or all-year around reproduction). The characterization of immune system using less invasive techniques, and gamete quality assays using putative markers of quality present in body fluids provided evidence of their relevance in understanding breeders response to these scenarios.
Summary of bilateral results
Donor BREEDFLAT partners were essential for the accomplishment of the main objectives, specifically because their participation allowed to create a multidisciplinary consortium, capable of addressing the reproductive problems from different perspectives, and providing an holistic approach with evidences that immune system and reproductive performance can be modulated by integrating antioxidants and immunostimulant compounds, present in some micro and macroalgae supplements. The combination of different techniques and the expertise provided by donor partners, was fundamental in using innovative techniques for the evaluation of immune system and gamete quality, and in using these parameters to demonstrate evidence of nutritional reprograming during gametogenesis process. Norwegian teams were experts in methylation and epigenome, where miRNAs mass-sequencing capacity and bioinformatics were fundamental to incorporate new tools to the evaluation of breeders’ performance, in particular for the study of extracellular vesicles cargo obtained from fish body fluids obtained by Portuguese teams. This new analysis was explored to provide evidence on the effects of feeds supplementation and opened a window for new collaborations within the consortium, that needs to be consolidated with new projects. Previous experience of the Norwegian teams with Atlantic halibut reproduction, was important to address specificities in this species for targeting improvements in broodstocks. The expertise from Norwegian teams was also an added value for approaching the problematic of the other two flatfish species. Portuguese teams had extensive experience in developing nutritional strategies for improving animal welfare and reduction of fish susceptibility to diseases and stressful rearing conditions, having strong skills on modulating and assessing fish immune and endocrine responses.