Marine Biotechnology最新文献

{"title":"Establishment of a Split Aptamer-based Lateral Flow Dipstick for the Detection of Phaeocystis globosa","authors":"Xueyang Tian,&nbsp;Mingjie Zhang,&nbsp;Yixin Ma,&nbsp;Chunyun Zhang,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Wang,&nbsp;Changlu Guo,&nbsp;Guofu Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10623-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10623-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><i>Phaeocystis globosa</i> is one of the major dominant species that cause harmful algae, and its massive reproduction will have a significant impact on marine ecosystems and aquaculture. Therefore, the development of sensitive, fast and portable detection methods is crucial for early identification of algae and follow-up risk assessment. Based on the split aptamer identification strategy, this study constructs a split aptamer-lateral flow dipstick (SA-LFD) platform for the detection of <i>P. globosa</i>, and systematically evaluates its analysis performance. The results show that the method is simple to perform and yields clearly visible results, with the caveat that sample pretreatment requires centrifugation. The system has high specificity for <i>P. globosa</i>, and no cross-reaction was detected in various non-target algae tested. The detection limit of the system is 1.35 × 10³ cells mL^− 1, and it also shows robustness in mixed algae communities and simulated natural seawater samples, indicating that it has a high resistance to matrix interference. The split aptamer strategy effectively reduced background signal interference and improved detection accuracy. Overall, this method integrates sensitivity, specificity, and portability, making it suitable for rapid laboratory-based screening and emergency assessment, and provides a feasible technical approach for the rapid detection of harmful algae and red tide early warning, with potential extension to the detection of other algal species after further simplification of sample pretreatment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147829509","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Automated Vitality Evaluation of Shrimp Postlarvae via Machine Vision: A Multi-Object Tracking and Behavioral Analytics Approach","authors":"Hao Gu,&nbsp;Luxi Yu,&nbsp;Hongda Li,&nbsp;Ming Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10620-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10620-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Activity of shrimp postlarvae is a critical proxy for quality and survival in aquaculture, yet current assessments rely on manual observation of swimming behavior, which is subjective and difficult to standardize. We introduce an automated, objective, and scalable video-analytics pipeline for evaluating activity in <i>Litopenaeus vannamei</i> postlarvae. The system first applies YOLOv8-Pose to extract keypoint-based positional data and body lengths from individual postlarvae across video frames. These detections are linked over time using the BoTSORT multi-object tracker to derive individual-level motion trajectories. From these trajectories, we construct an evaluation framework grounded in four population-level metrics—trajectory irregularity, uniformity, surface skimming ratio, and polarization—that jointly capture swarm dynamics and vertical distribution. We quantify the relative importance of these metrics via a hybrid weighting scheme combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with cluster-based collective decision-making, and fuse them into a comprehensive activity score through weighted aggregation of the machine-vision outputs. Finally, we stratify the resulting activity scores into three operational levels—high, moderate, and low—using K-means clustering. This approach replaces subjective inspection with a reproducible, data-driven assessment, enabling standardized monitoring and decision support in hatchery practice.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147759192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identifying Target Genes for Engineered Genetic Incompatibility in Fish","authors":"Leland Feist,&nbsp;Samuel E Erickson,&nbsp;Nicholas Jacob,&nbsp;Isabel Ameli,&nbsp;Carolyn Malecha,&nbsp;Julie Badger,&nbsp;Michael J Smanski","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10617-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10617-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Genetic biocontrol approaches promise to complement existing physical and chemical methods as part of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for the control of aquatic invasive species (AIS). Engineered Genetic Incompatibility (EGI) is a strategy for producing organisms that are reproductively isolated from wild conspecifics and could be used as non-persistent genetic biocontrol agents. Previously successfully demonstrated in yeast and insects, here we report early-stage research and development results towards translating this approach from insects into fish. Using <i>Danio rerio</i> (zebrafish) as a model system, we report the identification of target genes and sequence-programmable transcriptional activators (PTAs) that are suitable for EGI development in fish and evaluate their performance <i>in vivo</i>, in a model organism. We also describe several challenges faced when integrating the component parts into a complete system capable of displaying complete genetic incompatibility with wild-type conspecifics. Lastly, we discuss the steps needed to translate EGI from a model fish species to a target invasive species such as common carp (<i>Cyprinus carpio</i>).</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13110222/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147759220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiological and Metabolic Responses to Graded Dietary Biotin Supplementation in Juvenile Penaeus vannamei","authors":"Sua Kim,&nbsp;Suhyeok Kim,&nbsp;Danbi Shin,&nbsp;Nalin Medagoda,&nbsp;Kyeong-Jun Lee","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10615-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10615-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Biotin serves as a coenzyme in carboxylation reactions and plays a fundamental role in supporting growth, nutrient metabolism and overall physiological function in aquatic animals. This study investigated the biochemical and metabolic responses of graded dietary biotin in <i>Penaeus vannamei</i>. Five experimental diets were prepared with graded biotin supplementation levels of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 mg/kg (designated as Con, B02, B04, B06 and B08, respectively). The corresponding analyzed biotin concentrations were 1.65, 3.76, 5.84, 8.14 and 10.41 mg/kg, respectively. Twenty shrimp (0.55 ± 0.01 g) were randomly stocked into each tank, with four replicate tanks assigned to each experimental diet. The shrimp were fed the diets six times daily for 6 weeks. Dietary biotin supplementation significantly increased growth and improved feed utilization and protein efficiency ratio. Survival was not affected by the dietary treatment during the feeding trial. Whole-body lipid decreased linearly with increasing dietary biotin concentration. Hepatopancreatic biotin concentration exhibited a significant linear increase with graded dietary biotin concentrations. Chymotrypsin, lipase and amylase activities and intestinal villi height showed significant quadratic responses to dietary biotin concentration. Lysozyme activity increased linearly with dietary biotin concentrations, while antiprotease activity was significantly elevated in B02, B04 and B06 groups compared to Con group. Superoxide dismutase activity was significantly elevated in all biotin-supplemented groups. Based on piece-wise regression analysis, the optimal dietary biotin concentration for growth and feed conversion ratio was estimated at 3.09 to 3.66 mg/kg, respectively.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147759155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental Exosomes/Small Extracellular Vesicles: Evidence of Extracellular RNA Release by Aquatic Organisms","authors":"Ryo Yonezawa,&nbsp;Lingxin Meng,&nbsp;Naoki Hashimoto,&nbsp;Ibuki Igarashi,&nbsp;Satoshi Kimura,&nbsp;Nina Yasuda,&nbsp;Susumu Mitsuyama,&nbsp;Takanori Kobayashi,&nbsp;Kazutoshi Yoshitake,&nbsp;Shigeharu Kinoshita,&nbsp;Nahoko Bailey-Kobayashi,&nbsp;Kaoru Maeyama,&nbsp;Kiyohito Nagai,&nbsp;Shugo Watabe,&nbsp;Tetsuhiko Yoshida,&nbsp;Shuichi Asakawa","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10618-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10618-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Aquatic organisms continuously interact with surrounding water, yet whether they release extracellular vesicles into this vast medium remains unknown. We hypothesized that pearl oysters (<i>Pinctada fucata</i>) release exosomes/small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) into the aquatic environment. To this end, we collected exosome/sEV-sized components by ultrafiltration from tank water and open-sea culture areas. Microscopy revealed abundant vesicles consistent with exosome/sEV size, and small RNA sequencing identified pearl oyster-specific PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) that matched sequences previously detected in hemolymph exosomes. These findings demonstrate that pearl oysters actively released exosomes containing species-specific nucleic acids into surrounding water, effectively protecting the RNA from rapid degradation. We propose referring to these vesicles as environmental exosomes/environmental sEVs (eExosomes/esEVs). These findings suggest that aquatic exosomes/sEVs serve as carriers of RNA and may contribute to inter-organismal communication networks. Beyond their functional role, eExosomes/esEVs also hold promise as highly stable, novel targets for environmental DNA/RNA (eDNA/eRNA) analysis, offering new opportunities for ecological monitoring and biodiversity research.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13110240/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147759171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Redox Shift from Antioxidant to Pro-Oxidant Activity Induced by Nanoencapsulated α-tocopherol in Diets for Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)","authors":"Andrea Manriquez-Patiño,&nbsp;Adrián Ríos-Ortiz,&nbsp;Rafael Vázquez-Duhalt,&nbsp;Rocío A. Chávez-Santoscoy,&nbsp;Aurora Tinajero,&nbsp;María Teresa Viana","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10609-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10609-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Shrimp farming has seen significant growth in recent years, with increased production leading to intensification that requires less area to achieve higher yields. Intensive shrimp farming increases susceptibility to oxidative stress due to hypoxia and thermal fluctuations, compromising productivity and survival. Although α-tocopherol is widely used as a dietary antioxidant, its bioavailability and stability are limited along the intestinal tract. In this study, α-tocopherol was nanoencapsulated in chitosan via ionic gelation to enhance systemic delivery of α-tocopherol in <i>Litopenaeus vannamei</i>, resulting in nanoparticles with a diameter of 150 nanometers. For two weeks, four dietary treatments with five replicates were fed different nanoencapsulated α-tocopherol levels, (0, 2, 3, and 4 mg kg^-1). A system of 20-aquariums was used, each aquarium defined as the experimental unit (EU). Prior to the experiment, nanoparticles labeled with fluorescent FITC were used to confirm whether they crossed the intestinal barrier. Gene expression analysis revealed a dose-dependent catalase (CAT) modulation of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in the hepatopancreas, with transcriptional downregulation (qRT-PCR) at higher concentrations, suggesting reduced oxidative pressure or a shift toward pro-oxidant signaling. Despite the short length of the experimental procedure, these findings suggest that nanoencapsulated α-tocopherol not only enhances delivery efficiency but also unveils a redox transition threshold, highlighting the dual antioxidant/pro-oxidant nature of α-tocopherol in vivo. Nanotechnology with biomaterials such as chitosan presents a promising approach to mitigate oxidative stress by enhancing the stability and release of essential antioxidants. Furthermore, this work provides mechanistic insight into nanonutraceutical strategies for oxidative stress management in aquaculture. The pro-oxidant shift under longer experimental procedures is discussed.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10126-026-10609-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determination of Dietary Pantothenic Acid Requirement for Olive Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus): Growth and Physiological Responses","authors":"Suhyeok Kim,&nbsp;Jongho Lim,&nbsp;Yeonji Lee,&nbsp;Wonhoon Kim,&nbsp;Sua Kim,&nbsp;Sanghyun Song,&nbsp;Yein Lee,&nbsp;Kyeong-Jun Lee","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10619-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10619-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigated the dietary requirement of pantothenic acid (PA) and its effects on growth, feed efficiency, liver health, β-oxidation, hematological parameters and immune and antioxidant responses in olive flounder (<i>Paralichthys olivaceus</i>). A basal diet (P0) was formulated without PA supplementation, and six additional diets were prepared by adding 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 mg/kg PA (designated as P10–P60). Juvenile <i>P. olivaceus</i> (initial mean body weight: 45.0 ± 0.01 g) were randomly distributed into 21 tanks and fed the diets twice daily for 12 weeks. Growth performance and feed efficiency were significantly higher (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) in P10 and P20 groups than in P0 group. Liver lipid levels were significantly lower (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) in all PA-supplemented groups, while hepatic PA, CoA concentration, β-oxidation activity and levels of docosahexaenoic acid and α-linolenic acid were significantly higher (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.001) compared to P0 group. Dietary PA supplementation reduced aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities, though activities of both enzymes increased at higher PA supplementation levels. Lysozyme and anti-protease activities were significantly higher in P10 and P20 groups, and immunoglobulin levels were elevated in P10 group compared with P0 group. Glutathione peroxidase activity increased significantly in P10, P20 and P40 groups, while superoxide dismutase activity increased in P10, P20, P50 and P60 groups (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). Broken-line regression analysis based on weight gain and feed efficiency indicated that the optimal dietary PA requirement for <i>P. olivaceus</i> is 18.8 mg/kg.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Discovery of Natural Hybridization and Development of an Efficient Identification Marker Between Coilia Nasus and Coilia Brachygnathus","authors":"Zhongwei Sun,&nbsp;Chiping Kong,&nbsp;Yapei Li,&nbsp;Xiaoping Gao,&nbsp;Yingzhi Zhang,&nbsp;Xiaoling Gong,&nbsp;Lekang Li,&nbsp;Baolong Bao","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10612-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10612-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p><i>Coilia nasus</i> is a key migratory fish species with significant economic and ecological importance. Its sister species, <i>Coilia brachygnathus</i>, exhibits minimal morphological differentiation but substantial genetic divergence and a markedly lower economic value compared to <i>C. nasus</i>. In this study, we employed whole-genome resequencing to analyze the genetic clustering, principal components, and population structure of both <i>C. nasus</i> and <i>C. brachygnathus</i>. We report the first discovery of natural hybridization between these species in Poyang Lake. Given the difficulty in identifying hybrids based on morphology, we screened for diagnostic genetic markers and identified a short interspersed nucleotide element, T41-2. This element contains a 37-bp InDel region that differs between the <i>C. nasus</i> and <i>C. brachygnathus</i> genomes. The T41-2 InDel marker can be amplified by PCR, visualized via agarose gel electrophoresis, and has been verified as a stable and effective tool for distinguishing <i>C. nasus</i>, <i>C. brachygnathus</i>, and their interspecific hybrids across populations. This represents the first InDel marker enabling rapid discrimination between <i>C. nasus</i>, <i>C. brachygnathus</i>, and their hybrids. This marker is invaluable not only for detecting natural hybrids but also for mitigating artificial hybridization within the Chinese aquaculture industry.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Purification, Identification, and Functional Validation of Anti-Inflammatory Peptides from Protein Hydrolysates of Asian Seabass, Lates Calcarifer by-Product","authors":"Hui-Chen Lin,&nbsp;Chung-Chih Tseng,&nbsp;Jia-Yu Lu,&nbsp;Hua-Yi Liang,&nbsp;Chun-Hung Liu","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10610-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10610-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Fish processing by-products are increasingly recognized as sustainable raw materials for generating bioactive protein hydrolysates. In the present study, hydrolysates derived from Asian seabass (<i>Lates calcarifer</i>) by-products were produced and their anti-inflammatory potential was investigated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 macrophages. The results showed that the hydrolysates were non-cytotoxic at concentrations up to 0.5 mg/mL and significantly reduced nitric oxide (NO) production. Fractionation by ultrafiltration indicated that the 10–30 kDa fraction possessed the greatest inhibitory effect on NO release. Further purification using gel filtration chromatography concentrated the activity in Fraction F2, which effectively suppressed NO generation, decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (<i>TNF-α</i>, <i>IL6</i>, and <i>IL1β</i>), and regulated anti-inflammatory mediators. Peptide identification by LC–MS/MS combined with in silico prediction (PreAIP) yielded five peptides with high anti-inflammatory potential. Molecular docking with the TLR4/MD-2 complex (PDB: 2Z64) revealed that two peptides, LALDIEIATYR (LR-11) and LKLLLL (LL-6), exhibited favorable and stable binding interactions. Synthetic peptide assays further confirmed that both LR-11 and LL-6 significantly attenuated LPS-induced inflammatory responses, with LR-11 demonstrating stronger activity. In addition, structure-activity relationship evaluation of LR-11 analogs suggested that its biological function was closely associated with preservation of the original amino acid sequence and balanced physicochemical properties. Overall, these findings highlight Asian seabass by-products as a valuable and sustainable source of anti-inflammatory peptides and identify LR-11 as a promising candidate for future applications in nutraceutical and therapeutic development.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147737942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis Reveals the Regulatory Mechanism of Feed Conversion Efficiency in Spotted Knifejaw (Oplegnathus punctatus)","authors":"Feng Chen,&nbsp;Bowen Yang,&nbsp;Junwei Zhang,&nbsp;Wensheng Li,&nbsp;Qingbin Wang,&nbsp;Songlin Chen,&nbsp;Jiajie Zhu,&nbsp;Qian Zhou","doi":"10.1007/s10126-026-10614-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-026-10614-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The spotted knifejaw (<i>Oplegnathus punctatus</i>) is an economically valuable marine fish in aquaculture in China. However, the feed cost has become a bottleneck constraining the commercial benefit. Improving the feed conversion efficiency (FCE) is one of the key pathways to reduce the feed cost, yet the regulatory mechanisms underlying the FCE trait remain unclear. Here, we measured the FCE and conducted comparative transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses between fish groups with high and low FCE. Through transcriptomic profiling of muscle tissues, we identified 297 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which are significantly enriched in extracellular matrix (ECM) organization and circadian rhythm pathway, indicating that these pathways may play important roles in the regulation of FCE. The downregulation of the ECM genes (e.g., <i>col11a1</i>,<i> dcn</i>,<i> matn2</i>,<i> spon2</i> and <i>mmp14</i>) indicated the synthesis process of ECM might be attenuated through transcriptional regulation. Upregulation of <i>acly</i> and <i>sds</i> gene transcription points to optimized metabolic efficiency, securing energy for protein deposition. The metabolomic analysis identified 80 differential metabolites (DMs) such as proline (Pro), histidine (His), valine (Val),etc. These DMs were significantly enriched in aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, which implies the high feed conversion efficiency (HFCE) group has a potential increase in free amino acids and protein synthesis. Integrated analysis revealed that protein turnover and amino acid metabolism were significantly enriched at both omics levels. In addition, glutaminase 2 (<i>gls2</i>) gene and succinate were identified as the key regulatory nodes, which may influence the allocation of amino acid substrates to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle by inhibiting glutaminolysis. These preliminary results provide exploratory insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying FCE and lay an initial theoretical foundation for artificial selective breeding of HFCE spotted knifejaw.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147721338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}