The lives of fish: Sustaining EU aquaculture
Some of the top research groups in France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom have come together, through EU funding, to form the LIFECYCLE consortium. Their focus is on all major life stages of sea bass, sea bream, Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout, all prevalent in the European aquaculture industry. A long list of discoveries relating to immune function, growth, sexual development and reproduction has already been achieved by this massive collaborative project. Several advancements were made in the characterisation of genes, hormone receptors and cellular transport proteins. The team is also using state-of-the-art technology to uncover skin, head, and muscle- and tissue-specific gene networks that are activated or repressed during normal metamorphosis. Research is ongoing but LIFECYCLE results are set to boost the EU aquaculture industry in terms of efficiency, competitiveness and sustainability. It will also provide a foundation for future advances within the fields of stress and disease control, breeding selection, environmental performance and species diversification.
