Exploring single cell microbial protein as a sustainable fishmeal alternative in yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) diets: impacts on health and gut microbiome

Luke Pilmer; Lindsey Woolley; Alan Lymbery; Chinh Dam; Abigail Elizur; Md Javed Foysal; Gavin Partridge

doi:10.1186/s40104-024-01146-w

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Exploring single cell microbial protein as a sustainable fishmeal alternative in yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) diets: impacts on health and gut microbiome

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Exploring single cell microbial protein as a sustainable fishmeal alternative in yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) diets: impacts on health and gut microbiome

Luke Pilmer, Lindsey Woolley, Alan Lymbery, Chinh Dam, Abigail Elizur, Md Javed Foysal and Gavin Partridge

Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Vol.16(1), pp.1-15

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40104-024-01146-w

PMCID: PMC11787759

PMID: 39893452

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Abstract

Yellowtail kingfish

Alternative proteins

Methanotrophic bacteria

Gene expression

Microbiome

Background With the global expansion of aquaculture and the increasing demand for fish meal, identifying appropriate and sustainable alternative protein sources for aquafeeds has become essential. Single-cell protein (SCP), derived from methanotrophic bacteria, presents a promising alternative by converting methane into protein, potentially addressing both the need for alternative protein sources and reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different levels of SCP inclusion (0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% fish meal replacement) on the health, gene expression, and gut microbiome of yellowtail kingfish (YTK, Seriola lalandi) following a 35-day growth trial. Results The study found that SCP inclusion at the highest level of fishmeal replacement (75%) induced a mild inflammatory response in the hindgut of the fish. However, micromorphological assessments of the hindgut, serum biochemistry, and gene expression analyses revealed no significant detrimental effects from SCP replacement. Notably, there were indications of improved lipid digestibility with SCP. Furthermore, SCP inclusion significantly enhanced microbial richness and altered the composition of the gut microbiome, introducing beneficial bacterial taxa that may contribute to improved gut health and resilience. Conclusions This study highlights SCP as a viable and sustainable alternative to fish meal in YTK diets. The findings suggest that SCP can be included in YTK diets without adverse health effects at moderate levels and may even offer benefits in terms of lipid digestibility and gut microbiome diversity. These results contribute to the advancement of more sustainable aquaculture practices.

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Title: Exploring single cell microbial protein as a sustainable fishmeal alternative in yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) diets: impacts on health and gut microbiome
Authors: Luke Pilmer (Corresponding Author) - Murdoch University
Lindsey Woolley - Murdoch University
Alan Lymbery - Murdoch University
Chinh Dam - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Bioinnovation
Abigail Elizur - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Bioinnovation
Md Javed Foysal - University of Newcastle Australia
Gavin Partridge - Murdoch University
Publication details: Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Vol.16(1), pp.1-15
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1186/s40104-024-01146-w
ISSN: 2049-1891
PMID: 39893452; PMC11787759
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
Data Availability: The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The raw sequence data in fastq format have been deposited to National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and currently available under the BioProject accession number PRJNA726745.
Grant note: Fisheries Research Development Corporation, Grant/Award Number: 2017-030.
Organisation Unit: Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991101946202621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science