Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish

Biofloc technology is an innovative aquaculture approach that enhances water quality and reduces waste through the development of beneficial microbial communities. Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) are a newly discovered freshwater crayfish species that are distinguished by asexual reproduct...

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Main Authors: Vitor Coutinho Carneiro, Ines Schäfer, J. Jaime Diaz-Larrosa, Elias Böhl, Thomas Hahn, Jule Hempelmann, Geetha Venkatesh, Sanjanaa Nagarajan, Suki Roy, Yi Long Ng, Florian Böhl, Susanne Zibek, Frank Lyko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Aquaculture
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/faquc.2025.1580560/full
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author Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
Ines Schäfer
J. Jaime Diaz-Larrosa
Elias Böhl
Thomas Hahn
Jule Hempelmann
Geetha Venkatesh
Sanjanaa Nagarajan
Suki Roy
Yi Long Ng
Florian Böhl
Susanne Zibek
Frank Lyko
author_facet Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
Ines Schäfer
J. Jaime Diaz-Larrosa
Elias Böhl
Thomas Hahn
Jule Hempelmann
Geetha Venkatesh
Sanjanaa Nagarajan
Suki Roy
Yi Long Ng
Florian Böhl
Susanne Zibek
Frank Lyko
author_sort Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
collection DOAJ
description Biofloc technology is an innovative aquaculture approach that enhances water quality and reduces waste through the development of beneficial microbial communities. Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) are a newly discovered freshwater crayfish species that are distinguished by asexual reproduction, a genetically homogeneous all-female population structure and considerable robustness. These traits are attractive features for closed-system aquaculture production, which also mitigates the invasive risk associated with the species. Here we describe the establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish. Juvenile crayfish raised in biofloc systems displayed robust growth with a six-fold weight increase over three months, comparable with other crustaceans under similar conditions. Metagenomic analysis revealed that biofloc communities consisted mostly of beneficial Gammaproteobacteria and Bacillariophyceae, with variations by environmental factors, such as temperature and light exposure. DNA methylation profiling identified systematic changes in response to biofloc environments, highlighting the potential of DNA methylation analysis for environmental biomarker identification. Finally, nutritional analysis showed that biofloc-grown crayfish produced meat with a highly favorable protein-to-fat ratio, while their shells retained considerable amounts of chitin, an important raw material for bioplastics production. Taken together, our study is the first to establish marbled crayfish biofloc culture and to characterize the interaction between the animals and the production system.
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-dea08b2a833e409c8152c84fd3ba17252025-08-20T02:27:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aquaculture2813-53342025-05-01410.3389/faquc.2025.15805601580560Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfishVitor Coutinho Carneiro0Vitor Coutinho Carneiro1Ines Schäfer2J. Jaime Diaz-Larrosa3Elias Böhl4Thomas Hahn5Jule Hempelmann6Geetha Venkatesh7Sanjanaa Nagarajan8Suki Roy9Yi Long Ng10Florian Böhl11Susanne Zibek12Frank Lyko13Division of Epigenetics, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, GermanyMerall Bioproducts GmbH, Heidelberg, GermanyDivision of Epigenetics, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, GermanyDivision of Epigenetics, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, GermanyDivision of Epigenetics, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, GermanyFraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart, GermanyFraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart, GermanyDivision of Epigenetics, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, GermanyEvonik (SEA) Pte Ltd, Asia Research Hub, Singapore, SingaporeEvonik (SEA) Pte Ltd, Asia Research Hub, Singapore, SingaporeSchool of Applied Science, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore, SingaporeCreavis, Evonik Operations GmbH, Hanau-Wolfgang, GermanyFraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart, GermanyDivision of Epigenetics, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, GermanyBiofloc technology is an innovative aquaculture approach that enhances water quality and reduces waste through the development of beneficial microbial communities. Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) are a newly discovered freshwater crayfish species that are distinguished by asexual reproduction, a genetically homogeneous all-female population structure and considerable robustness. These traits are attractive features for closed-system aquaculture production, which also mitigates the invasive risk associated with the species. Here we describe the establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish. Juvenile crayfish raised in biofloc systems displayed robust growth with a six-fold weight increase over three months, comparable with other crustaceans under similar conditions. Metagenomic analysis revealed that biofloc communities consisted mostly of beneficial Gammaproteobacteria and Bacillariophyceae, with variations by environmental factors, such as temperature and light exposure. DNA methylation profiling identified systematic changes in response to biofloc environments, highlighting the potential of DNA methylation analysis for environmental biomarker identification. Finally, nutritional analysis showed that biofloc-grown crayfish produced meat with a highly favorable protein-to-fat ratio, while their shells retained considerable amounts of chitin, an important raw material for bioplastics production. Taken together, our study is the first to establish marbled crayfish biofloc culture and to characterize the interaction between the animals and the production system.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/faquc.2025.1580560/fullbiofloc technologysustainabilityaquaculturemarbled crayfishepigeneticschitin
spellingShingle Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
Ines Schäfer
J. Jaime Diaz-Larrosa
Elias Böhl
Thomas Hahn
Jule Hempelmann
Geetha Venkatesh
Sanjanaa Nagarajan
Suki Roy
Yi Long Ng
Florian Böhl
Susanne Zibek
Frank Lyko
Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish
Frontiers in Aquaculture
biofloc technology
sustainability
aquaculture
marbled crayfish
epigenetics
chitin
title Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish
title_full Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish
title_fullStr Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish
title_full_unstemmed Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish
title_short Establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish
title_sort establishment and characterization of biofloc culture for marbled crayfish
topic biofloc technology
sustainability
aquaculture
marbled crayfish
epigenetics
chitin
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/faquc.2025.1580560/full
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