The brine shrimp Artemia as a model species in aquaculture research

The brine shrimp Artemia as a model species in aquaculture research

The production of sufficient live food for the larviculture stage is a bottleneck for aquaculture expansion and diversification. As a substitute for the natural food, the larvae (nauplii) of the brine shrimp Artemia are used as a universal live food source thanks to its convenience, flexibility in use, and nutritional value. Additionally, Artemia is commonly used as model organism in aquaculture. Compared to research on commercial shellfish and finfish species, Artemia has a short life span and is easy to culture in the laboratory, so that experimental results can be obtained within a relatively short time span. Major breakthroughs, especially in the field of health-related topics in crustacean aquaculture, have been achieved in the study of host-microbe interactions and microbial management in aquaculture by using Artemia as model organism. This has been realized by using the gnotobiotic Artemia culture system or tool box in which the animals are cultured axenically or with a known microflora under strictly controlled environmental parameters, which allows for a more accurate assessment of the role of microbiota than xenic cultures. By eliminating the complex interactions between the microbiological community, the environmental conditions and the target organism, the effect of the presence of a single or of few microorganisms can be studied, with enhanced reproducibility of results. Additionally, Artemia is also increasingly being used as a model organism for breeding studies, nutritional studies and the study of epigenetic inheritance

The production of sufficient live food for the larviculture stage is a bottleneck for aquaculture expansion and diversification. As a substitute for the natural food, the larvae (nauplii) of the brine shrimp Artemia are used as a universal live food source thanks to its convenience, flexibility in use, and nutritional value. Additionally, Artemia is commonly used as model organism in aquaculture. Compared to research on commercial shellfish and finfish species, Artemia has a short life span and is easy to culture in the laboratory, so that experimental results can be obtained within a relatively short time span. Major breakthroughs, especially in the field of health-related topics in crustacean aquaculture, have been achieved in the study of host-microbe interactions and microbial management in aquaculture by using Artemia as model organism. This has been realized by using the gnotobiotic Artemia culture system or tool box in which the animals are cultured axenically or with a known microflora under strictly controlled environmental parameters, which allows for a more accurate assessment of the role of microbiota than xenic cultures. By eliminating the complex interactions between the microbiological community, the environmental conditions and the target organism, the effect of the presence of a single or of few microorganisms can be studied, with enhanced reproducibility of results. Additionally, Artemia is also increasingly being used as a model organism for breeding studies, nutritional studies and the study of epigenetic inheritance