The effect of dietary fish peptides on biomarkers of human health - the influence of processing conditions and the environment. This project links together two diverse but important areas of national importance: declining fisheries and human health. Australia is a small producer and exporter of fish but has access to significant fisheries. The Geelong Food Co-product Cluster comprises a number of fish companies facing serious problems associated with declining catches compounded by the current f ....The effect of dietary fish peptides on biomarkers of human health - the influence of processing conditions and the environment. This project links together two diverse but important areas of national importance: declining fisheries and human health. Australia is a small producer and exporter of fish but has access to significant fisheries. The Geelong Food Co-product Cluster comprises a number of fish companies facing serious problems associated with declining catches compounded by the current financial crisis. Increasing use of by-catch species and developing novel processing technology for controlled release of bioactive peptides that may reduce appetite and the tendency for overweight and obesity in consumers could provide the Australian seafood industry with a world competitive innovative technology leading to improvements in human health.Read moreRead less
Programming of appetite and bodyweight by the interaction of maternal diet and angiotensin during peri-natal life. The project describes a phenotype for appetite and body weight that can be altered by maternal dietary omega-3 PUFA (environmental factors), at a critical period during peri-natal life (developmental phase) and that the effect on body weight is opposite when endogenous angiotensin is increased (hormonal factor). The project aims to discover how these different factors interact to p ....Programming of appetite and bodyweight by the interaction of maternal diet and angiotensin during peri-natal life. The project describes a phenotype for appetite and body weight that can be altered by maternal dietary omega-3 PUFA (environmental factors), at a critical period during peri-natal life (developmental phase) and that the effect on body weight is opposite when endogenous angiotensin is increased (hormonal factor). The project aims to discover how these different factors interact to produce the phenotype by defining the critical period and systematically identifying genes that are expressed during this period. The effect of manipulating maternal dietary omega-3 PUFA and the role of angiotensin will then be examined. The project will discover how genetic, hormonal and environmental factors interact during the perinatal period of life to program food intake and body weight in adult life. Read moreRead less
Striking Gold - Determining the genetics of gold skin colour in barramundi. Barramundi is one of Australia’s finest eating table fish and the species is gaining global prominence. However, fillet flesh colour of Australian farmed barramundi exhibit greyish tones which lowers consumer acceptance compared to other white flesh fish and imported product. Barramundi with rare golden skin tones do not exhibit this flesh "greyness" and are therefore a valuable niche product to farm if they can be produ ....Striking Gold - Determining the genetics of gold skin colour in barramundi. Barramundi is one of Australia’s finest eating table fish and the species is gaining global prominence. However, fillet flesh colour of Australian farmed barramundi exhibit greyish tones which lowers consumer acceptance compared to other white flesh fish and imported product. Barramundi with rare golden skin tones do not exhibit this flesh "greyness" and are therefore a valuable niche product to farm if they can be produced in larger numbers. This project will elucidate the genetic basis and mechanism of expression behind the golden barramundi phenotype. In doing so, it will enable barramundi farmers to produce them at commercially relevant scales, providing them with a substantial competitive advantage in both domestic and global markets.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH210100014
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,996,503.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Supercharging Tropical Aquaculture Through Genetic Solutions. This project will deliver the genetic knowledge to instigate world-leading and highly productive breeding programs for five tropical aquaculture species (barramundi, pearl oyster, prawn, grouper and marine algae) in northern Australia. It will integrate cutting edge genetic and genomic approaches into innovative aquaculture enterprises and will establish a novel understanding of the genetic basis of disease resist ....ARC Research Hub for Supercharging Tropical Aquaculture Through Genetic Solutions. This project will deliver the genetic knowledge to instigate world-leading and highly productive breeding programs for five tropical aquaculture species (barramundi, pearl oyster, prawn, grouper and marine algae) in northern Australia. It will integrate cutting edge genetic and genomic approaches into innovative aquaculture enterprises and will establish a novel understanding of the genetic basis of disease resistance and how the production environment interfaces with the bacterial microbiome, pathogens and water quality to cause disease. Outcomes will lead to increased productivity, international competitiveness, and lowered disease risk and significantly expand Australia's capacity in the aquaculture sector.Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100648
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$472,027.00
Summary
Novel reproductive approaches to de-risk and transform barramundi breeding. Demand for Australian seafood outstrips supply. Farming of the iconic Australian barramundi is poised to play a major role addressing this shortfall; but innovative methods are needed to de-risk breeding processes and to provide precise control of maturation, spawning and genetic contribution of broodstock. This project, in partnership with the world’s largest barramundi breeding company, will develop, test and apply nov ....Novel reproductive approaches to de-risk and transform barramundi breeding. Demand for Australian seafood outstrips supply. Farming of the iconic Australian barramundi is poised to play a major role addressing this shortfall; but innovative methods are needed to de-risk breeding processes and to provide precise control of maturation, spawning and genetic contribution of broodstock. This project, in partnership with the world’s largest barramundi breeding company, will develop, test and apply novel breeding methods to obtain tight control over barramundi reproductive development and spawning. By combining cutting-edge genetic and applied breeding techniques, selective breeding programs will be more efficient and the genetic gains from breeding programs will be maximised.Read moreRead less
Triggering the dormant capacity of fish to make omega 3 fatty acids. Marine fisheries cannot expand further, leaving aquaculture (fish farming) with the challenge of meeting the growing demand for fish, whose consumption is known to enhance human health. Fish oil is an essential component of the feed used in aquaculture, but there is a decreasing global supply of this commodity. This innovative nutritional biochemistry project boosts the capacity of fish to produce their own fish oil from vegeta ....Triggering the dormant capacity of fish to make omega 3 fatty acids. Marine fisheries cannot expand further, leaving aquaculture (fish farming) with the challenge of meeting the growing demand for fish, whose consumption is known to enhance human health. Fish oil is an essential component of the feed used in aquaculture, but there is a decreasing global supply of this commodity. This innovative nutritional biochemistry project boosts the capacity of fish to produce their own fish oil from vegetable oils in their diet. Therefore, this project will enable the expansion of aquaculture as an economically and environmentally sustainable means to produce the highest quality, nourishing fish for human consumption.Read moreRead less
Environmental and behavioural approaches for parasite resistant aquaculture. In modern fish aquaculture, parasite infections threaten efficient production. Ecological problems also arise when fish farms amplify parasite populations and cause outbreaks in surrounding wild fish populations. Present control methods rarely integrate the behaviour of the host fish. This project aims to assess the behaviours of hosts and the mechanisms that lead to parasite outbreaks. It will develop behavioural appro ....Environmental and behavioural approaches for parasite resistant aquaculture. In modern fish aquaculture, parasite infections threaten efficient production. Ecological problems also arise when fish farms amplify parasite populations and cause outbreaks in surrounding wild fish populations. Present control methods rarely integrate the behaviour of the host fish. This project aims to assess the behaviours of hosts and the mechanisms that lead to parasite outbreaks. It will develop behavioural approaches that separate host and parasite, reduce infection, and altering host behaviour to improve the effectiveness of treatments and minimise their environmental impacts. This project aims to create novel methods to control parasites in ways that limit their ability to evolve resistance.Read moreRead less
Novel enzymatic processing methods and stabilization technologies for omega-3 oils. New and existing lipases will be applied to the concentration of omega-3 lipids from fish and algal oils. The primary aim of this project is to replace current chemical processes and high temperature distillation with milder enzymatic methods, providing high quality omega-3 concentrates for food and pharmaceutical purposes. The project aims to develop new immobilisation technology to enable multiple re-use of lip ....Novel enzymatic processing methods and stabilization technologies for omega-3 oils. New and existing lipases will be applied to the concentration of omega-3 lipids from fish and algal oils. The primary aim of this project is to replace current chemical processes and high temperature distillation with milder enzymatic methods, providing high quality omega-3 concentrates for food and pharmaceutical purposes. The project aims to develop new immobilisation technology to enable multiple re-use of lipases for the cost effective production of omega-3 concentrates and to apply new microencapsulation strategies to the stabilisation of omega-3 concentrates, enabling the delivery of omega-3s and other bioactive ingredients to a range of food and beverage products.Read moreRead less
Omega-3 fatty acids, appetite and growth in farmed fish. Australia has very limited wild fish supplies, and with the increasing realization of human health benefits of fish (i.e. omega-3 fatty acid) there is a need to increase availability through aquaculture. However, feeds used in aquaculture contain costly fish oil with limited global supplies. Attempts made to substitute fish oil with vegetable sources in aquaculture feeds have been mixed. This international, comparative and multidisciplinar ....Omega-3 fatty acids, appetite and growth in farmed fish. Australia has very limited wild fish supplies, and with the increasing realization of human health benefits of fish (i.e. omega-3 fatty acid) there is a need to increase availability through aquaculture. However, feeds used in aquaculture contain costly fish oil with limited global supplies. Attempts made to substitute fish oil with vegetable sources in aquaculture feeds have been mixed. This international, comparative and multidisciplinary project aims to reduce the dependence on fish oils through investigation of basic fatty acid metabolism and endocrinology on farmed fish to ensure that human health promoting characteristics in the final product are retained.Read moreRead less
Why are fish shrinking as the climate warms? This project aims to uncover the mechanisms behind the temperature-size rule, a phenomenon causing fishes and other aquatic organisms to decline in size as the climate warms. Drawing on multidisciplinary expertise to test three competing theories, this project expects to identify the fundamental processes driving the temperature-size rule phenomenon. Expected outcomes include improved models to forecast the effects of global warming on fish and fisher ....Why are fish shrinking as the climate warms? This project aims to uncover the mechanisms behind the temperature-size rule, a phenomenon causing fishes and other aquatic organisms to decline in size as the climate warms. Drawing on multidisciplinary expertise to test three competing theories, this project expects to identify the fundamental processes driving the temperature-size rule phenomenon. Expected outcomes include improved models to forecast the effects of global warming on fish and fisheries. The new knowledge and predictive power should be of direct benefit to natural resource managers in the continuing effort to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. This will guide policy and management decisions by enabling more accurate forecasts of the impacts of climate change on wild and cultured fishes.Read moreRead less