Blue Genome: Investigating the Microbiota-Transcriptome Relationship within the Scope of Sustainable Aquaculture and Food Biotechnology

The nutritional properties of fish and fish products make them valuable food items beneficial to human health. The nutritional benefits of fish largely stem from its fatty acid profile. In recent years, increasing interest has focused on the importance of omega-3 (n-3 PUFA) in human nutrition, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). While omega-3 production in fish depends on diet, environmental factors, and genetic parameters, it is known that this production also shapes the organism's own microbiota. Advances in biotechnology and genomics, and the development of sequencing technologies, enable the linking of sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, and food biotechnology, allowing for beneficial actions to be taken. This project will involve whole genome, transcriptome, and stomach microbiota analyses of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) samples obtained from farmed and wild populations, as well as microbiota analyses of water samples taken from their habitats using environmental DNA metabarcoding. The effect of the relationship between microbiota and transcriptome on omega-3 production will be investigated by correlating it with the genomes of different populations.