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Epigenetics in aquaculture - the last frontier
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Aquaculture production is expanding rapidly around the world. To tackle rising
production and species diversity issues, innovations in the field of aquaculture
feeds, breeding, disease management and other improvements must be addressed.
In this framework, the study of epigenetic mechanisms behind different aquaculture rearing processes presents great opportunities. The transcriptional impact of
epigenetic modifications, triggered by environmental stimuli, has been shown to
influence the organism’s phenotype. Therefore, understanding the environmental-induced epigenetic markers related to disease resistance or other economically
important traits will allow the establishment of favourable breeding conditions
with increased economical revenue. Several studies have shown epigenetic effects
in various species, induced by different rearing conditions, with benefits for the
organisms and evidences for heritability of the acquired adaptive phenotypic traits
across generations, making these studies even more relevant in a production context. These studies have demonstrated the great potential of epigenetics to positively induce disease resistance, stress tolerance and attain better sex ratios in the
aquatic organism. Also, in the field of nutritional epigenetics, the possibility of
early nutritional programming to improve the performance of broodstock or even
the long-term performance of their progeny has been suggested. In sum, an
increased understanding of epigenetic mechanisms in economically important
species, and the epigenetic markers leading to the most favourable phenotypic
traits, will contribute to the expansion of economically viable commercial aquaculture industries. The major epigenetic mechanisms and respective analysis
methods, as well as the state of the art and potential applications in aquaculture,
are addressed in this review.
Description
This study had the support of Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to MARE, the project PROTEOME (PTDC/AAG-MAA/1302/2014), co-financed by COMPETE (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016773) and the grants awarded to
Luana Granada (SFRH/BD/102036/2014) and Sara Novais (SFRH/BPD/94500/2013). The authors also wish to acknowledge the Integrated Programme of SR&TD ‘Smart Valorization of Endogenous Marine Biological Resources Under a Changing Climate’ (reference Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018), co-funded by Centro 2020 program,
Portugal 2020, European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund.
Keywords
Breeding improvement Epigenetic inheritance Epigenetic mechanisms Improved phenotype Stress tolerance Sustainable aquaculture
Citation
Granada L, Lemos MFL, Cabral HN, Bossier P, Novais SC (2018) Epigenetics in aquaculture – the last frontier. Reviews in Aquaculture 10(4): 994-1013 (doi: 10.1111/raq.12219)