Gilthead seabream is the main aquaculture species produced in Portugal, as well as in the Mediterranean. However, the winter
disease syndrome, a series of metabolic and immune system disorders caused by low temperatures, affects seabream culture,
leading to important industrial losses, either as mortalities or growth decreases during spring. These effects can be minimized
through dietary optimisation, either improving diets for the end of summer season, or feeding seabream with a fortified diet during autumn/winter. However, the development of a fortified diet for autumn/winter is hindered by the lack of tools to evaluate fish metabolic and physiological condition. Nevertheless, the recent development of new generation molecular tools provides good perspectives to supply molecular indicators of condition that would support this task
