NWO-STW: Deciphering the microbiome of fish eggs to mitigate diseases in aquaculture

Aquaculture is currently the fastest-growing animal food sector, but threatened by emerging diseases. The fungallike oomycete Saprolegnia and other ectoparasites are causing significant declines in crayfish, fish and amphibian populations. To date, these diseases are controlled by chemical treatments, including formalin. However, formalin will be banned in the near future and new sustainable approaches are urgently needed. In the proposed project we will reconstruct protective, fish egg-associated microbial communities and study interactions among the members in the microbial community to elucidate the mechanism involved in protection against Saprolegniosis and other emerging diseases. Besides fundamental insights into how bacteria interact in microbial consortia, this project will also identify novel antimicrobials and provide insights into the fish immune response to beneficial microorganisms.