Search Results (851)

A 10-week feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacing fishmeal with cricket meal on the productive performance and transcriptional responses of genes related to nutrient metabolism and growth of blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus). Five conventional tilapia feeds were formulated to replace fishmeal with cricket meal. Control diet (CD) was formulated with 20% fishmeal, and four diets gradually replaced fishmeal with cricket meal at 20, 40, 60, and 80% (D1–D4). A total of 200 fingerling tilapia (2.00 ± 0.09 g) were randomly distributed into 20 tanks (10 fish/tank), with four replicates per dietary treatment. The results showed that fish fed CD and D1 had higher growth performance values than those fed D2–D4. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly better in fish fed CD and D1 compared with fish fed D2–D4. The survival rate was similar for all treatments. The transcriptional response of genes related to nutrient digestion, absorption, and transport; lipid metabolism; and the somatotropic axis was marked downregulated in fish fed D2 and D4, whereas in fish fed D3, it exhibited a unique compensatory regulation across most pathways, likely sustained by its higher dietary lipid content. Although cricket meal did not prevent the metabolic effects associated with high soybean meal inclusion, survival remained high across all treatments. Cricket meal can replace up to 20% of the fishmeal in the feed for blue tilapia fingerlings, with soybean meal as the main protein source. Full article

This study applied time-series modeling using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) to compare the growth performance of tilapia broodfish in pond and recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) from June 2023 to May 2024. Descriptive statistics showed a higher mean percentage weight gain under RAS (26.69%) than pond culture (23.75%), although monthly variability in the RAS dataset was influenced by an outlier, which may be attributed to influential exogenous factors rather than water-quality parameters. Normality, stationarity, and autocorrelation diagnostics confirmed that both datasets were appropriate for ARIMA modeling without differencing. Multiple ARIMA models were evaluated based on RMSE, MAPE, MAE, AIC, BIC, and residual behavior; ARIMA (1,0,1) emerged as the best fit for both systems. Forecasting up to May 2028 revealed stable long-term growth patterns, with RAS consistently showing slightly higher forecasted growth compared to pond culture, although the difference remained small in absolute terms. Predictions remained within model-generated 95% confidence intervals; however, these results indicate internal model consistency rather than independent validation of predictive accuracy. The findings highlight that RAS offers more consistent and slightly superior growth performance, supporting its potential for optimized broodfish production. Recommendations emphasize adopting RAS for enhanced growth predictability and improved management in tilapia aquaculture. Full article

This study evaluates the impact of recirculating aquaponic cultivation on the biochemical, mineral, and antioxidant profiles of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) integrated with Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), which serves as a source of nutrients through metabolic waste transformation within the system. Water quality parameters and microbiological testing confirmed efficient nitrification and system safety, with no Escherichia coli detected. Results showed that aquaponic cultivation yields a high nutritional value of Swiss chard, yielding high crude protein (31.4% DW) and mineral-rich biomass (ash 22.8% DW). Substantial concentrations of essential elements were recorded, including Ca, Mg, Fe (253.7 mg/kg DW), Zn, and Cu, suggesting high ionic bioavailability in the recirculating system. Physiological stability was reflected by a chlorophyll a content of 4.74 mg/g DW. Furthermore, the plants exhibited a robust phytochemical profile, with total phenolics (4.13 mg GAE/g DW) and flavonoids (5.18 mg QE/g DW) driving strong antioxidant activity (93.1% ABTS inhibition). These findings demonstrate that integrated aquaponic systems function as effective nutrient bioreactors, supporting high plant functional quality while supporting sustainable food production. The results validate aquaponics as a viable, climate-smart strategy for high-quality leafy vegetable cultivation within a circular bioeconomy framework. Full article

The mechanisms underlying hydrogen peroxide (HP)-induced oxidative stress damage in the muscle of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) remain poorly understood. In this study, an oxidative stress model was established through 2 mM HP exposure for 4 weeks to elucidate the effects of oxidative stress on tilapia muscle and regulatory mechanisms. The results demonstrated that prolonged oxidative stress inhibited the antioxidant response in tilapia muscle and significantly reduced body weight. Concurrently, oxidative stress downregulated the gene expression of muscle proliferation and development, leading to a loss of muscle mass and the deterioration of muscle texture. Furthermore, oxidative stress altered muscle cell fate and exacerbated inflammatory responses. Further transcriptomic analysis revealed that Pten played a critical regulatory role in the muscle antioxidant response and growth. Mechanistically, activation of Pten ameliorated antioxidant capacity and promoted cell proliferation. In conclusion, HP-mediated oxidative stress significantly inhibited muscle proliferation and development, while targeted regulation of Pten effectively alleviated the suppression of muscle antioxidant capacity and cell proliferation. This study provided a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of oxidative stress injury in tilapia aquaculture. Full article

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Tilapia Industry Roadmap (2022–2025) emphasizes the need for technological innovation in Philippine aquaculture. We developed an automated IoT-based monitoring and control system for Oreochromis niloticus using fuzzy logic for the dynamic regulation of temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia, total dissolved solids, and turbidity. The system integrates sensors and a web-based interface for real-time data access and management of aeration, filtration, and temperature. Experimental results show the improved stability of water quality, reduced fish mortality, and enhanced growth performance compared with conventional setups. The system demonstrates a practical and sustainable approach to intensifying tilapia aquaculture through smart automation. Full article

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-melanogenic effects and underlying mechanisms of PFRMY (Pro-Phe-Arg-Met-Tyr), a pentapeptide derived from tilapia skin (Oreochromis niloticus), using B16F10 murine melanoma cells. Treatment with PFRMY (1.0 mg/mL) significantly reduced intracellular melanin content and tyrosinase (TYR) activity by 39.55 ± 1.51% and 32.46 ± 1.31%, respectively. RT-PCR and Western blotting analyses revealed that PFRMY suppressed melanogenesis through the α-MSH/PKA/CREB signaling pathway. Notably, PFRMY reversed α-MSH-induced upregulation of key downstream factors including PKA, CREB, MITF, and TYR, while showing minimal effects on the protein expression of MC1R or α-MSH. Molecular docking further suggested that PFRMY binds to MC1R with higher affinity than α-MSH, potentially occupying the ligand-binding site and thereby interfering with downstream signaling. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that PFRMY effectively inhibits melanogenesis by competitively antagonizing the α-MSH/MC1R axis, highlighting its potential as a safe and efficacious ingredient for hyperpigmentation treatment and cosmetic applications. Full article

Global warming presents urgent challenges for tilapia aquaculture. This study introduces a tailored loss function to assess long-term impacts under extreme drought, using historical drought data in China as a baseline. The TaiESM1 climate model within the CMIP6 framework is applied to project future conditions under SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios, focusing on Guangdong Province (2024–2100). The results indicate a general decline in the frequency of extreme droughts across all scenarios. Under SSP245, technological advancements combined with reduced drought risk may boost yields of tilapia aquaculture of Guangdong to 2.369–2.418 million tons by 2100. In SSP370 and SSP585, while humidity increases, drought risk reduction is less pronounced, resulting in marginally lower yields (2.285–2.408 and 2.300–2.416 million tons, respectively). When a unified loss parameter is applied, projected yields exhibit a U-shaped trend across all SSP scenarios, reaching a minimum under SSP370 in the mid-century period before recovering toward the end of the century, driven by scenario-dependent marginal responses of production to changes in extreme drought risk, highlighting the nonlinearity of climate impacts driven by complex climatic factors and socioeconomic interactions. These findings are subject to uncertainties associated with the use of a single climate model and the simplified representation of drought impacts in the loss-function framework. Full article

Lactococcosis caused by Lactococcus garvieae is an emerging threat to warmwater aquaculture, yet evidence integrating field outbreaks with robust molecular confirmation and controlled virulence testing remains limited for Thailand’s cage-cultured tilapia. From May to October 2025, acute mortality events were investigated in cage-cultured Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in a reservoir in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand. Suspected outbreaks were defined by abrupt daily mortality exceeding 5% accompanied by septicemia-like clinical signs. Water quality during sampling covered the following ranges: temperature 28.6–31.9 °C, pH 6.5–7.0, salinity 0.02–0.03 ppt, electrical conductivity 0.036–0.046 mS/cm, TDS 22.20–26.50 mg/L, total alkalinity 17.0–34.0 mg/L as CaCO₃, total hardness 12.0–60.0 mg/L as CaCO₃, dissolved oxygen 6.5–7.0 mg/L, and NH₃ were below the limit of detection. Full-length 16S rRNA tissue profiling revealed strong tissue partitioning: blood microbiomes were consistently dominated by Lactococcus and L. garvieae at the species level, whereas gills showed higher richness and mixed communities with multiple opportunistic taxa. Culture isolation was more reliable from blood than gills, yielding 16 Gram-positive, catalase-negative isolates (AAHM-LG2501–AAHM-LG2516) that clustered within the L. garvieae clade in near full-length 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis and were separated from closely related Lactococcus lineages. A representative blood isolate (AAHM-LG2501) showed dose-dependent virulence in controlled challenges, with an LD₅₀ of ~1.05 × 10⁵ CFU/fish by intraperitoneal injection and an LC₅₀ of ~1.20 × 10⁶ CFU/mL by immersion. Histopathology supported systemic dissemination, with injection producing more consistent multi-organ lesions than immersion, particularly in head kidney, liver, and spleen, while gills exhibited route-associated epithelial and vascular alterations. Together, these findings confirm L. garvieae as a major etiological agent of septicemic outbreaks in cage-cultured tilapia in Thailand and support a practical surveillance framework prioritizing blood sampling, molecular confirmation, and risk-based monitoring to guide biosecurity and vaccine-oriented prevention. Full article

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is a major aquaculture species worldwide, yet bacterial infections remain a critical constraint to production sustainability. Although pathogen-associated dysbiosis has been widely described, most studies have focused exclusively on bacterial communities, overlooking the multi-kingdom nature of the intestinal microbiota. This study evaluated the impact of experimental Providencia vermicola infection on both prokaryotic and microeukaryotic intestinal communities under controlled conditions. Using 16S (V3–V4) and 18S (V9) rRNA amplicon sequencing, we compared healthy and infected fish and assessed taxonomic, structural, and predicted functional changes. Infection was associated with significant compositional shifts, including increased relative abundances of Bacteroidota and Proteobacteria and decreased relative abundances of Fusobacteriota and Patescibacteria. Concomitantly, microeukaryotic groups such as Protalveolata, Nematozoa, and Phragmoplastophyta were significantly reduced. Functional prediction revealed metabolic pathway reconfiguration consistent with infection-associated ecological disturbance. Together, these results suggest that the pathogen challenge is associated with coordinated changes in the intestinal microbiota as an integrated system across multiple microbial kingdoms rather than as isolated bacterial shifts. This study supports ecosystem-level interpretations of dysbiosis and highlights the importance of incorporating cross-domain analyses into health assessment strategies in aquaculture species. Full article

Background: In this study, type B gelatin was extracted from Oreochromis niloticus scales under hydrothermal conditions at 60 °C to evaluate the effect of ultrasound-assisted pretreatment on its structural, physicochemical, thermal, and functional properties. Methods: Gelatin obtained with and without ultrasound pretreatment was systematically characterized through molecular weight analysis, proteomic profiling, size determination, surface morphology, proximate composition, thermal behavior, and gelation-related functional properties in order to assess the influence of the extraction method on gelation performance. Results: Ultrasound pretreatment slightly increased gelatin yield from 1.46 to 1.70%, indicating enhanced collagen solubilization. Proteomic analysis confirmed the predominance of fibrillar collagen proteins in both samples, although differences in protein distribution were observed. Furthermore, weight-average molecular weight analysis revealed a reduction from 212.3 ± 11.8 to 170.9 ± 13.2 kDa in the ultrasound-treated sample, suggesting partial fragmentation of collagen chains induced by cavitation effects. Structural modifications were also reflected in increased porosity and surface changes, contributing to improved colloidal stability. However, these changes significantly affect the functional behavior of the gelatin. Ultrasound-treated sample exhibited limited gel-forming capacity and failed to form stable gels at the evaluated concentration, despite complete dissolution. In contrast, gelatin extracted without ultrasound treatment retained higher-molecular-weight fractions and formed stable gels at both 5 and 10% (w/w). Thermal and spectroscopic analyses suggested that the fundamental collagen structure was preserved in both samples, although differences were observed in thermal degradation behavior. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of controlling ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions to balance collagen recovery with the preservation of molecular integrity required for gelation, providing insights for the development of sustainable fish-derived biomaterials for pharmaceuticals and biomedical applications. Full article

This research aimed to examine the effects of different dietary levels of nano-selenium (NSE) on the reproductive performance, gonad hormones, histopathology, growth performance, feed utilization, and body indices in adult Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, broodstock for 90 days. The initial weights of the fish were 278.6 ± 5.5 (males) and 178.4 ± 1.6 (females). They were distributed randomly to 15 tanks with 20 fish in each tank (15 females and 5 males, sex ratio 3:1), with each treatment conducted with three replicates. The contents of NSE in five isocaloric and isonitrogenous practical feeds were 0 mg/kg (control), 1 mg/kg (T1), 2 mg/kg (T2), 3 mg/kg (T3), and 4 mg/kg (T4). Results show that the final weight (FW), weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly better in T2 and T1, followed by the control, in comparison with others. On the other hand, growth efficiency was decreased in T3 and T4 of both males and females. Referring to body indices and reproductive performance, females were higher than males in the hepatosomatic index (HSI), where the lowest treatment was the control and T4 for both males and females. Female Nile tilapia brood fish given NSE improved reproductive performance indicators (egg number, total egg, and fry number) when compared with the control. With increasing levels of NSE in the feed, the levels of testosterone and progesterone hormones were increased. The highest values for testosterone were in T4, followed by T3, then T2, T1, and the control. The same trend was observed across the progesterone treatments. Additionally, the results of histopathological examination indicate differences in tissues between different treatments as a result of the addition of NSE. These results indicate that NSE supplementation at low levels could lead to improved growth and reproductive efficiency of Nile tilapia. Full article

Chrome tanning of fish skins generates hazardous effluents and carcinogenic Cr(VI) residues; chromium-free routes to valorize collagen-rich by-products from aquaculture and coastal fisheries are therefore needed. We report a 12-stage ecological protocol employing acetic acid/NaCl pickling, Acacia mearnsii tannin, A. podalyriifolia retanning, mashed-papaya enzymatic bating, and cinnamon as antimicrobial/odor adjunct, scaled from bench to pilot using exclusively locally sourced inputs, for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Patagonian flounder (Paralichthys patagonicus). Three trained operators evaluated macroscopic quality against five predefined criteria adapted from SATRA and ISO 3376 grading conventions, providing a structured feasibility baseline that does not substitute for the standardized instrumental testing designated as priority future work. Both species achieved satisfactory grain stability, complete tannin penetration, pliable handle, and cinnamon-dominant odor without residual amines; dark-brown coloration is a recognized practical limitation for fashion applications. In silico molecular docking (GNINA v1.0) was used to explore the mechanistic plausibility of each ecological substitution, generating testable hypotheses rather than definitive mechanistic conclusions: the multidentate polyphenol proxy (PGG) exhibited consistently superior collagen engagement over the flavanol monomer across both collagen constructs and all three scoring metrics (1CAG: Vina affinity −5.51 ± 0.13 vs. −3.54 ± 0.35 kcal/mol; CNNscore 0.874 ± 0.009 vs. 0.771 ± 0.010; 7CWK: Vina affinity −6.98 ± 1.43 vs. −4.37 ± 0.16 kcal/mol; CNNscore 0.858 ± 0.024 vs. 0.635 ± 0.094). Dipeptide probes were reproducibly accommodated in the papain catalytic cleft, with the closest configuration reaching 3.997 Å from the catalytic nucleophile (OCS25-SG). Trans-cinnamaldehyde occupied the quorum-sensing pocket with reproducible placement (CNNscore 0.718 ± 0.034) but without score-based selectivity over structural decoys, a result interpreted as hypothesis-generating for future microbiological validation. The protocol is reproducible from bench to pilot and generalizable across two species with distinct dermal architectures. Quantitative physical-mechanical testing (shrinkage temperature, tensile strength, elongation, tear load), CIELab colorimetric analysis, and effluent characterization (COD, BOD₅, total phenolics) are designated as priorities for future validation. Full article

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC) has been confirmed to possess excellent nutritional activities as a natural flavonoid low-calorie sweetener, but its practical application in the food industry was greatly limited due to its low water solubility. The potential NHDC activity against oxidative stress (OS) diseases was explored through network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, and a highly water-soluble NHDC-L-arginine complex (NL) was prepared by combining NHDC with L-arginine to overcome this technical bottleneck. Meanwhile, the enhancement of antioxidant capacity markers under non-stressed conditions following NL treatment was systematically investigated in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), and transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were integrated to reveal the potential regulatory mechanism at the molecular and metabolic levels. It was found that NHDC could exert potential anti-OS effects by targeting and binding to key proteins such as CYP19A1, TYR, EPHX2, TDP1, ESR1, and SLC5A1. In addition, the MDA level in C. elegans after NL intervention was significantly reduced to 0.65 ± 0.06 nmol/mg prot, while the activities of antioxidant enzymes T-SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT were significantly increased to 48.83 ± 1.75 U/mg prot, 112.95 ± 0.55 U/mg prot, and 6.30 ± 0.16 U/mg prot, respectively. Longevity regulating pathway–worm was identified as a potential key signaling pathway for NL to regulate the enhancement of antioxidant capacity markers under non-stressed conditions of C. elegans at the molecular level, and the pentose phosphate pathway was the core metabolic pathway. These results could offer theoretical support for the potential development of NHDC and NL in the field of antioxidants, as well as their large-scale applications in the functional food and flavored food industries. Full article

Faba bean-fed crispy tilapia represents a commercially valuable aquaculture product, renowned for its exceptional muscle firmness. However, the dynamic changes in muscle metabolite profiles during the tilapia crisping process remain largely unelucidated. In this study, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR) combined with multivariate statistical analysis was employed to characterize and compare the muscle metabolomes of tilapia subjected to different crispness grades (CD0, CD2, CD4). A total of 11 differential metabolites were successfully identified, among which glycine, threonine, and trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline were demonstrated to be potential crispness-related biomarkers. Specifically, as the crispness grade increased from 0 to 4, the muscle contents of these key metabolites exhibited a consistent downward trend: glycine decreased significantly from 19.86 mM to 7.15 mM, threonine from 1.21 mM to 0.58 mM, and trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline from 2.25 mM to 0.89 mM. Subsequent metabolic pathway enrichment analysis further revealed that the glycine-serine-threonine metabolic pathway represented the most significantly perturbed pathway associated with the crisping process. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that faba bean-based feeding regimens enhance tilapia muscle crispness by orchestrating metabolite signatures involved in collagen biosynthesis and lipid metabolism. These results not only provide novel insights into the intrinsic molecular mechanisms underlying tilapia crisping but also establish a solid theoretical framework for the precise quality control and standardized production of high-quality crispy tilapia. Full article

In disease control and precision management in aquaculture, rapid and accurate identification of common fish diseases is pivotal to mitigating economic losses and ensuring aquaculture profitability. However, fish diseases are characterized by subtle symptoms, polymorphic lesions, and high susceptibility to environmental perturbations such as water turbidity and illumination fluctuations. Existing detection models generally suffer from inadequate lightweight design, poor fine-grained lesion feature extraction, and deficient adaptability to class imbalance, failing to meet the stringent requirements of precise diagnosis in real-world aquaculture scenarios. To address these challenges, this study proposes FDR-Net: a fine-grained lesion detection model for tilapia via multi-scale feature enhancement and spatial attention fusion. Using image data of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) covering 6 common diseases and healthy individuals (from the NTD-1 dataset), the model incorporates symmetry-aware design logic, leveraging the morphological and textural symmetry of healthy tilapia tissues to capture lesion-induced symmetry-breaking features, thereby improving fine-grained lesion detection accuracy. Through depth-width scaling coefficients, FDR-Net achieves lightweight optimization while integrating three core modules and a task-specific loss function for full-chain optimization: specifically, a Micro-lesion Feature Enhancement Module (MLFEM) is embedded in key feature layers of the backbone network to accurately extract edge and texture features of incipient fine-grained lesions via multi-scale frequency decomposition and residual fusion; subsequently, a Lightweight Multi-scale Position Attention Module (MS_PSA) and a Single-modal Intra-feature Contrastive Fusion Module (SMICFM) are collaboratively deployed—the former focusing on spatial localization of lesion features, and the latter enhancing lesion-background discriminability through channel-spatial feature recalibration and contrastive fusion; finally, a Class-Aware Weighted Hybrid Loss (CAWHL) function is combined with customized small-target anchor boxes to alleviate class imbalance and further improve localization and classification accuracy of fine-grained lesions. Empirical evaluations on the NTD-1 dataset demonstrate that compared with mainstream state-of-the-art baseline models, FDR-Net achieves a peak recognition accuracy of 90.1% with substantially enhanced mAP_50-95 performance. Retaining lightweight characteristics, it exhibits superior performance in identifying incipient fine-grained lesions and strong adaptability to simulated complex aquaculture scenarios. Collectively, this study provides an efficient technical backbone for the rapid and precise detection of tilapia fine-grained lesions, offering a potential solution for precise disease management in tilapia farming. Full article