iBB

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector in food production worldwide. BSRG-iBB researchers Nuno Borges, Tina Keller-Costa, PhD candidate Gracinda Sanches-Fernandes and Prof. Rodrigo Costa, together with colleagues from the University of Aveiro, have recently published a review in Annual Review of Animal Biosciences examining molecular studies of bacterial diversity, function, and host immunity modulation at early stages of fish development, where microbial infections cause important economic losses. The authors uncover host colonization and virulence factors from a synthetic assemblage of fish pathogens using comparative genomics and address the use of probiotics and paraprobiotics as disease-prevention strategies in fish larval and juvenile rearing. They also propose guidelines for future microbiome research of presumed relevance to fish larviculture.