Microalgae Microbiomes - A natural source for the prevention and treatment of aquaculture diseases (AquaHealth)

Short description of the project: AquaHealth was a three-year project financed by Horizon 2020, aimed at contributing to a positive development of sustainable land-based aquaculture, securing high quality food supply for the world's growing population while simultaneously reducing environmental impact.

Tangible results: Aquahealth has assembled and applied advanced meta 'omics toolbox on the natural synergy of microalgae and microbial consortia to discover and validate novel bioactive and prebiotic compounds for sustainable use in preventing and treating disease in land-based aquaculture systems. Targeted classes include biofilm and microbial pathogens inhibiting enzymes, peptides and small molecules, and antiviral drugs such as reverse-transcriptase inhibitors. This has been addressed in seven different work packages. Thus, a set of scientific publications covering these topics have been published as results.

Application/relevance: In order to guarantee continuous, efficient and sustainable production and to safeguard the growth of the European aquaculture sector, its production from biological threats is crucial.