Search

Society is becoming more demanding with aquaculture's environmental footprint and animal wellbeing. In order to potentially mitigate these concerns, feed formulations could be based on eco-efficient (circular economy-driven) or organic ingredients. This study aimed to investigate the growth performance, feed utilization, and health status of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) when fed with such feeds. The growth trial lasted for 8 weeks, and fish had an initial weight of 31.0 ± 0.5 g (mean ± SD). Fish were fed until visual satiation, in quadruplicate, with one of three isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental feeds: a commercial-like feed without fishmeal (PD), a diet based on ingredients compatible with organic certification (ORG), or a feed formulated using circular economy-driven subproducts and emergent ingredients (ECO). Fish fed ECO showed a tendency for decreased feed intake, while ORG fish significantly reduced their intake compared to those fed PD. Consequently, fish fed ECO (62.7 ± 5.4 g) exhibited almost half the growth than those fed PD (107.8 ± 6.1 g), while ORG fish almost did not increase their weight (32.7 ± 1.3 g). ECO and ORG diets had a lower digestibility for protein, lipid, and energy when compared to PD. Feed utilization of fish fed ECO or ORG was also lower than those fed PD. From the health-related genes analyzed, only glutathione reductase (gsr) showed statistically significant differences, being more expressed in fish-fed ECO than those fed PD. Thus, even when such novel formulations induced extreme effects on voluntary feed intake, their impact was noted only in fish growth, but not in robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The present study shows how different combinations of eco-efficient ingredients can be considered reliable solutions for European aquaculture production. For this purpose, three different formulations were designed and tested in a 77-day gilthead sea bream trial. All diets supported similar growth rates, but the diet without poultry meal and processed animal proteins as the main fish meal replacer (NOPAP diet) shaped better nutrient utilization with an overall improvement of biomarkers of physiological condition. Such an integrative approach contributes to better understanding of what could be the best and least-cost feed formulation for an effective balance of sustainability and aquaculture profitability in a scenario of intensive aquaculture production and limited availability of marine feed ingredients for fish production. The growth of the aquaculture industry requires more sustainable and circular economy-driven aquafeed formulas. Thus, the goal of the present study was to assess in farmed gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) how different combinations of novel and conventional fish feed ingredients supported proper animal performance in terms of growth and physiological biomarkers of blood/liver/head kidney. A 77-day feeding trial was conducted with three experimental diets (PAP, with terrestrial processed animal protein from animal by-products; NOPAP, without processed animal protein from terrestrial animal by-products; MIX, a combination of alternative ingredients of PAP and NOPAP diets) and a commercial-type formulation (CTRL), and their effects on growth performance and markers of endocrine growth regulation, lipid metabolism, antioxidant defense and inflammatory condition were assessed at circulatory and tissue level (liver, head kidney). Growth performance was similar among all dietary treatments. However, fish fed the PAP diet displayed a lower feed conversion and protein efficiency, with intermediate values in MIX-fed fish. Such gradual variation in growth performance was supported by different biomarker signatures that delineated a lower risk of oxidation and inflammatory condition in NOPAP fish, in concurrence with an enhanced hepatic lipogenesis that did not represent a risk of lipoid liver degeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Gut health depends on a complex network interaction between the host and the mucosal-associated microbiota, and it is modulated by dietary inputs. To gain knowledge on this interaction and shed light on the nutritional impacts at this level, this study assessed the effect of dietary protein quality on the modulation of different gut health parameters. Fish performance and gut microbiome abundance were correlated with amino acid intake and the functional prediction of bacteria metabolism. The results indicate that different protein qualities modulate the relationship between bacteria functional pathways and amino acid intake. Dietary protein quality plays a key role in maintaining intestinal mucosal integrity, but also modulates the growth of luminal microorganisms. This work assessed the effect of dietary protein sources on the performance, gut morphology, and microbiome in Nile tilapia. Four isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets comprising equivalent amounts of the protein supply derived from either PLANT, ANIMAL, INSECT, or BACTERIAL (bacterial biomass) sources were fed to triplicate groups of fish (IBW: 12 g) for 46 days. Fish fed the ANIMAL and BACTERIAL diets showed significantly higher weight gains than those fed the PLANT and INSECT diets (p < 0.05). Relative abundance at the phylum level showed that Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, and Proteobacteria were the more abundant phyla in tilapia's intestine, while Cetobacterium was the most representative genus in all treatments. Interesting patterns were observed in the correlation between amino acid intake and genus and species abundance. Metabolism prediction analysis showed that BACTERIAL amine and polyamine degradation pathways are modulated depending on diets. In conclusion, different protein sources modulate the relationship between bacteria functional pathways and amino acid intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critical re-reading of the letters that make up the epistolary corpus of Bishop Cyprian of Carthage, the first episcopate to be martyred and killed in North Africa, during the persecutions carried out during the government of the Roman Emperor Valerian, indicates the occurrence of several conflicts within the communities early Christians. In this article, we aim to analyze some of these disputes, in order to demonstrate how they were established, how they were fought, how they were sometimes resolved. The organization of the commanding authority of Bishops and the choice of priests, deacons and readers expressed all the human feelings that surrounded the establishment of hierarchies within the original communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]