Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped Specimens
Background: Fish escape events from aquaculture facilities are increasing and pose significant ecological, economic, and traceability concerns. Accurate methods to differentiate between wild, cultured, and escaped fish are essential for fishery management and seafood authentication. Methods: This st...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Warda Badaoui Kilian Toledo-Guedes Juan Manuel Valero-Rodriguez Adrian Villar-Montalt Frutos C. Marhuenda-Egea |
| author_facet | Warda Badaoui Kilian Toledo-Guedes Juan Manuel Valero-Rodriguez Adrian Villar-Montalt Frutos C. Marhuenda-Egea |
| author_sort | Warda Badaoui |
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| description | Background: Fish escape events from aquaculture facilities are increasing and pose significant ecological, economic, and traceability concerns. Accurate methods to differentiate between wild, cultured, and escaped fish are essential for fishery management and seafood authentication. Methods: This study analyzed muscle tissue from <i>Sparus aurata</i>, <i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i>, and <i>Argyrosomus regius</i> using a multiomics approach. Heavy metals were quantified by ICP-MS, fatty acid profiles were assessed via GC-MS, and metabolomic and lipidomic signatures were identified using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Multivariate statistical models (MDS and PLS-LDA) were applied to classify fish origins. Results: Wild seabream showed significantly higher levels of arsenic (9.5-fold), selenium (3.5-fold), and DHA and ARA fatty acids (3.2-fold), while cultured fish exhibited increased linoleic and linolenic acids (6.5-fold). TMAO concentrations were up to 5.3-fold higher in wild fish, serving as a robust metabolic biomarker. Escaped fish displayed intermediate biochemical profiles. Multivariate models achieved a 100% classification accuracy across species and analytical techniques. Conclusions: The integration of heavy metal analysis, fatty acid profiling, and NMR-based metabolomics enables the accurate differentiation of fish origin. While muscle tissue provides reliable biomarkers relevant to human exposure, future studies should explore additional tissues such as liver and gills to improve the resolution of traceability. These methods support seafood authentication, enhance aquaculture traceability, and aid in managing the ecological impacts of escape events. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| series | Metabolites |
| spelling | doaj-art-c8d9e6759dfc4d8e8ae98e52cf520fdc2025-08-20T03:32:32ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892025-07-0115749010.3390/metabo15070490Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped SpecimensWarda Badaoui0Kilian Toledo-Guedes1Juan Manuel Valero-Rodriguez2Adrian Villar-Montalt3Frutos C. Marhuenda-Egea4Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Agricultural Chemistry and Edafology, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, SpainDepartment of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, SpainDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, SpainDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Agricultural Chemistry and Edafology, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, SpainBackground: Fish escape events from aquaculture facilities are increasing and pose significant ecological, economic, and traceability concerns. Accurate methods to differentiate between wild, cultured, and escaped fish are essential for fishery management and seafood authentication. Methods: This study analyzed muscle tissue from <i>Sparus aurata</i>, <i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i>, and <i>Argyrosomus regius</i> using a multiomics approach. Heavy metals were quantified by ICP-MS, fatty acid profiles were assessed via GC-MS, and metabolomic and lipidomic signatures were identified using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Multivariate statistical models (MDS and PLS-LDA) were applied to classify fish origins. Results: Wild seabream showed significantly higher levels of arsenic (9.5-fold), selenium (3.5-fold), and DHA and ARA fatty acids (3.2-fold), while cultured fish exhibited increased linoleic and linolenic acids (6.5-fold). TMAO concentrations were up to 5.3-fold higher in wild fish, serving as a robust metabolic biomarker. Escaped fish displayed intermediate biochemical profiles. Multivariate models achieved a 100% classification accuracy across species and analytical techniques. Conclusions: The integration of heavy metal analysis, fatty acid profiling, and NMR-based metabolomics enables the accurate differentiation of fish origin. While muscle tissue provides reliable biomarkers relevant to human exposure, future studies should explore additional tissues such as liver and gills to improve the resolution of traceability. These methods support seafood authentication, enhance aquaculture traceability, and aid in managing the ecological impacts of escape events.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/7/490fish traceabilityaquaculture escapesheavy metalsfatty acid profilingNMR metabolomicsseafood authentication |
| spellingShingle | Warda Badaoui Kilian Toledo-Guedes Juan Manuel Valero-Rodriguez Adrian Villar-Montalt Frutos C. Marhuenda-Egea Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped Specimens Metabolites fish traceability aquaculture escapes heavy metals fatty acid profiling NMR metabolomics seafood authentication |
| title | Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped Specimens |
| title_full | Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped Specimens |
| title_fullStr | Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped Specimens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped Specimens |
| title_short | Decoding Fish Origins: How Metals and Metabolites Differentiate Wild, Cultured, and Escaped Specimens |
| title_sort | decoding fish origins how metals and metabolites differentiate wild cultured and escaped specimens |
| topic | fish traceability aquaculture escapes heavy metals fatty acid profiling NMR metabolomics seafood authentication |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/7/490 |
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