Investigations of Microbiome in Aquaculture Species

Growing human population and increased wealth have resulted in an increasing demand for high quality proteins. The desire for protein from aquaculture has risen dramatically as total wild fisheries production is unable to meet market demand for seafood, with many species being overfished. The development of sustainable aquaculture industries is underpinned by research addressing various aspects of the farmed species and their environment. There has been an increasing interest in research on microbiomes of aquaculture species as shown by soaring numbers of new publications in the area in recent years. This is due to our increased appreciation of the significance of the microbiome to animal health and performance as well as an increased availability of methods for microbiome analysis and their reduced cost. This presentation will discuss case studies of the microbiomes of three iconic aquaculture species: Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, Southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii, and spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus. We investigated the effects of diet and fresh water treatment against Amoebic Gill Disease on the gut microbiome of Atlantic salmon and determined baseline microbiomes for Southern bluefin tuna and spiny lobster. The results show potential applications of microbiome research to sustainable aquaculture