Jiantong Feng

Titolo Progetto: Marine copepod culture of Acartia tonsa and associated microbiome for aquaculture implementation

Abstract: Copepods are key organisms in the marine food web, they represent the main grazers of phytoplankton and food for fish larvae, linking the primary producers to the highest trophic level. In the last decade copepods are proposed as alternative to Artemia and rotifers to feed fish larvae of commercial value and, in many countries, are now used in aquaculture farms for their high nutritional value, respect to other commercial, live food. In particular, the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa is a key organism, both in aquaculture and in ecotoxicology studies, due to its wide geographic distribution.  Moreover, many aspects of its physiology, ecology and recently, also transcriptome are known, making A. tonsa a well-cultured species in laboratory conditions and a model organism in different research fields. The aim is to find a potential, biotechnological application of bacteria isolated from a laboratory culture of A. tonsa copepod. In particular, antimicrobial activity of pre isolated and typed bacteria strains, as well as their “secreted” molecules, will be evaluated; some fish pathogenic bacteria and some zoonotic microorganisms will be employed in the assay. The final purpose is to verify the presence in the microbiome of cultured A. tonsa copepod, of bacteria with potential antibacterial activity against pathogens. The possible use and benefit of A. tonsa culture in fish feeding will be evaluated.

Presentazione Conferenza:

• 2st Italy-China bilateral workshop Scientific – technological research and higher education applied to the sciences of the sea