Production of enzymatic extracts for aquafeeds by solid-state fermentation with Aspergillus ibericus of winery and olive mill wastes

[Excerpt] Introduction The replacement of fishmeal by plant ingredients in aquafeeds imposed new formulation strategies to overcome some nutritional restrictions associated with these alternative ingredients. Thus, supplementation of plant-based diets with feed additives, as exogenous enzymes and antioxidants compounds, has recently attracted increasing interest to improve feed utilization and to promote animal health. Solid state fermentation (SSF) of agro-industrial wastes has a high potential for the production of these additives, being a practical, economical, and environmentally-friendly process. Olive mill and winery wastes have valuable compounds that may be valorized thought SSF and that may be used as additives for aquafeeds. This study was conducted to optimize the production of non-starch carbohydrases through the SSF of the olive mill and winery wastes and to test its efficacy to improve the release of pentoses during digestion of a plant-based diet in European seabass.[...]Work supported by FCT PhD grant SFRH/BD/131219/2017, SFRH/BDP/114942/2016, IJFCT-POCI 01-0145-FEDER-030377 and MAR-02.01.01-FEAMP-0111info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Novel fish feed supplements: giving value to agroindustrial wastes

Sustainable aquaculture requires the reduction of fish meal use in diets, by replacing it with ecofriendly ingredients, as that vegetal feedstuff not desirable for human consumption. However, these pose challenges due to the presence of antinutritional factors. The supplementation with some supplements, like exoenzymes and antioxidants, has shown potential to reduce their nutritional drawbacks. The solid-state fermentation (SSF) of agro-industrial wastes may be used to obtain such compounds. The goal of this work was to test the applicability of an SSF-extract, obtained through the SSF of an optimized mixture of three agro-industrial wastes with Aspergilus ibericus (30% EGM, 36% VTS, 34% EOP), determined previously with a simplex-centroid mixture design. The activity of this extract was measured to be xylanase: 1866.9 U/g (lyophilized extract); cellulose: 1563.6 U/g; β-glucosidase: 736.455 U/g, and total antioxidants: 439.4 μmol Trolox equivalents/g lyophilized extract; total phenols: 28.1 mg caffeic acid equivalents/g lyophilized extract. The efficiency of this extract as a feed additive in plant-based diets evaluated by an in vitro digestibility trial, analyzing its efficiency to improve the release of pentoses and antioxidants during digestion. The extract was used to supplement diets for Dicentrarchus labrax, with increasing levels of extract: 0, 4 and 8 U cellulase/g diet. Dietary supplementation with the extract led to the increase of pentose release, during alkaline digestion. The effect of the supplementation with the SSF extract on the release of antioxidants and phenols compounds are being evaluated and will be presented.Project SPO3 (ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030377; FEDER-Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and FCT); project InovFeed (ref. MAR-02.01.01-FEAMP0111; Programa Operacional Mar2020); BioTecNorte (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004; ERDF under the scope of Norte2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Metabolic control of T cell immune response through glycans in inflammatory bowel disease

Mucosal T lymphocytes from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were previously shown to display a deficiency in branched N-glycosylation associated with disease severity. However, whether this glycosylation pathway shapes the course of the T cell response constituting a targeted-specific mechanism in UC remains largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that metabolic supplementation of ex vivo mucosal T cells from patients with active UC with N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) resulted in enhancement of branched N-glycosylation in the T cell receptor (TCR), leading to suppression of T cell growth, inhibition of the T helper 1 (Th1)/Th17 immune response, and controlled T cell activity. We further demonstrated that mouse models displaying a deficiency in the branched N-glycosylation pathway (MGAT5-/-, MGAT5+/-) exhibited increased susceptibility to severe forms of colitis and early-onset disease. Importantly, the treatment of these mice with GlcNAc reduced disease severity and suppressed disease progression due to a controlled T cell-mediated immune response at the intestinal mucosa. In conclusion, our human ex vivo and preclinical results demonstrate the targeted-specific immunomodulatory properties of this simple glycan, proposing a therapeutic approach for patients with UC.We thank Dr. Hiroaki Korekane and Fumi (RIKEN) for support in preparation of the fluorescent oligosaccharide acceptor substrate. We thank Dr. Michael Pierce for kindly providing the MGAT5 knockout mice. We also thank Paula Paíga (REQUIMTE/LAQV) for technical support with the HPLC system. The Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto integrates the i3S research unit, which is partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This article is a result of the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029, supported by the Norte Portugal Regional Programme (NORTE 2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund. This work was also funded by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through the FCT in the framework of the project (POCI-01/ 0145-FEDER-016601 and PTDC/DTP-PIC/0560/2014). S.S.P. acknowledges the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization (ECCO) for ECCO Grant 2017, the Broad Medical Research Program at the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, and the Portuguese Group of Study in IBD (GEDII) for funding. A.M.D. [PD/BD/105982/2014], A.C. [SFRH/BPD/91623/2012], and M.S.P. [SFRH/ BD/110148/2015] received funding from the FCT. M. Lima thanks the CHP for the research support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) immune status and disease resistance are impaired by arginine dietary supplementation

Infectious diseases and fish feeds management are probably the major expenses in the aquaculture business. Hence, it is a priority to define sustainable strategies which simultaneously avoid therapeutic procedures and reinforce fish immunity. Currently, one preferred approach is the use of immunostimulants which can be supplemented to the fish diets. Arginine is a versatile amino acid with important mechanisms closely related to the immune response. Aiming at finding out how arginine affects the innate immune status or improve disease resistance of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) against vibriosis, fish were fed two arginine-supplemented diets (1% and 2% arginine supplementation). A third diet meeting arginine requirement level for seabass served as control diet. Following 15 or 29 days of feeding, fish were sampled for blood, spleen and gut to assess cell-mediated immune parameters and immune-related gene expression. At the same time, fish from each dietary group were challenged against Vibrio anguillarum and survival was monitored. Cell-mediated immune parameters such as the extracellular superoxide and nitric oxide decreased in fish fed arginine-supplemented diets. Interleukins and immune-cell marker transcripts were down-regulated by the highest supplementation level. Disease resistance data were in accordance with a generally depressed immune status, with increased susceptibility to vibriosis in fish fed arginine supplemented diets. Altogether, these results suggest a general inhibitory effect of arginine on the immune defences and disease resistance of European seabass. Still, further research will certainly clarify arginine immunomodulation pathways thereby allowing the validation of its potential as a prophylactic strategy.European Union's Seventh Framework Programme AQUAEXCEL (Aquaculture Infrastructures for Excellence in European Fish Research) [262336]; AQUAIMPROV [NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000038]; North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON. 2 - O Novo Norte) , under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the European Regional Development Fund; North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON. 2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework through the COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/89457/2012, SFRH/BPD/77210/2011]; Generalitat Valenciana through the project REVIDPAQUA [ISIC/2012/003]; [PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013]; [UID/Multi/04423/2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lipid remodelling in the reef-building honeycomb worm, Sabellaria alveolata, reflects acclimation and local adaptation to temperature

Acclimation and adaptation, which are key to species survival in a changing climate, can be observed in terms of membrane lipid composition. Remodelling membrane lipids, via homeoviscous adaptation (HVA), counteracts membrane dysfunction due to temperature in poikilotherms. In order to assess the potential for acclimation and adaptation in the honeycomb worm, Sabellaria alveolata, a reefbuilding polychaete that supports high biodiversity, we carried out common-garden experiments using individuals from along its latitudinal range. Individuals were exposed to a stepwise temperature increase from 15 °C to 25 °C and membrane lipid composition assessed. Our results suggest that S. alveolata was able to acclimate to higher temperatures, as observed by a decrease in unsaturation index and 20:5n-3. However, over the long-term at 25 °C, lipid composition patterns are not consistent with HVA expectations and suggest a stress response. Furthermore, unsaturation index of individuals from the two coldest sites were higher than those from the two warmest sites, with individuals from the thermally intermediate site being in-between, likely reflecting local adaptation to temperature. Therefore, lipid remodelling appears limited at the highest temperatures in S. alveolata, suggesting that individuals inhabiting warm environments may be close to their upper thermal tolerance limits and at risk in a changing climate