Establishing knowledge within functional genomics and biochemistry for optimal use of future fish feed lipid resources

Ane Skjelfjord

Prosjektleder ved IHA: Hilde Sundvold
Øvrige forskere ved IHA: Magny Thomassen

Strategisk forskningsråds-program under ledelse fra AKVAFORSK, et samarbeid mellom AKVAFORSK, IHA, NIFES og UiO.

Overall objective: to secure the use of new feed lipid resources for Atlantic salmon, by gaining knowledge on important mechanisms related to regulation of lipid metabolism and deposition, membrane- and intracellular transport mechanisms, and muscle cell properties.

The main goals of this strategic program are to:
1. Identify and clone key regulatory factors related to lipid metabolism and study the functionality of these factors by the use of in vitro models.
2. To develop suitable methods andreagents for studying the genetic mechanisms underlying the responses to fatty acids on the regulation of lipid metabolism in the major metabolic cells i.e. hepatocytes, muscle cells and adipocytes.
3. Increase the basic knowledge of fish muscle properties, i.e. membrane- and intracellular transport and binding. Further to study the lysosome membrane stability and phospholipase activity in relation to necrotic muscle cell dealth.
4. Educate Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows.

In order to secure future growth in the global aquaculture industry, a huge variety of fatty acid blends, including vegetable oils, will be used in fish diets as fish oil supply becomes scarce and prices will fluctuate. This change in the lipid composition of the diet will affect the fatty acid composition of the cell membranes as well as the fat deposition in adipose and muscle tissues. However, it is largely unknown how these dietary changes will affect gene expression and modulate lipid homeostasis and further affect the activity of membrane bound enzymes, receptors, ion-channels and fat-deposition in fish. It is of major importance that future diets for farmed fish increase the ability of the fish to utilise dietary lipid for energy production, concomitantly sparing dietary protein for muscle growth without negative effects on fish health. The major objectives of this programme are therefore to study how a change in dietary fatty acid composition (in combination with other nutrients) will affect gene expression of regulatory factors in lipid metabolism, particularly in relation to lipid uptake and transport, development and distribution of adipose tissue, accumulation and breakdown of lipids, and functional muscle-cell properties related to product quality.

Oppdatert: 20.10.04
Utskriftsvennlig versjon : Arkiv : Tips en venn