{"id":237904,"date":"2017-05-17T13:03:32","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T16:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=237904\/"},"modified":"2017-08-18T14:08:49","modified_gmt":"2017-08-18T17:08:49","slug":"tilapias-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/tilapias-turn\/","title":{"rendered":"Tilapia\u2019s turn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eduardo Cesar<\/span><\/a> Specimens of Saint Peter, tilapia\u2019s generic name, at the Fisheries Institute in S\u00e3o PauloEduardo Cesar<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Originating in Africa\u2019s Nile River, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) <\/em>was consumed by the ancient Egyptians more than 3,000 years ago. Today, it is Brazil\u2019s most cultivated fish and ranks fourth worldwide behind three carp species, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This national fish preference may seem odd to anyone who does not know its better known name: Saint Peter, which is very often served in restaurants and available in Brazilian supermarkets. Saint Peter is a red skin variety of the same Nile tilapia, which is traditionally black with darker stripes. In fillet form, there is no difference in color and taste. The size of Brazil\u2019s tilapia producing and consuming market acts as an incentive for scientists to research breeding methods, diseases and treatments, and even to find different ways of marketing the product.<\/p>\n

The red variety was brought from Israel by the Aquaculture Production Technology (APT) company in the 1980s. \u201cThe name Saint Peter came about and stuck, in much the same way as Brazil\u2019s Bombril brand has come to refer to steel wool and Xerox is now synonymous with photocopies,\u201d says zootechnician and professor Alexandre Wagner Silva Hilsdorf of the Genetics Laboratory of Aquatic Organisms and Aquaculture (LAGOOA) at Mogi das Cruzes University (UMC), located in Greater S\u00e3o Paulo. Hilsdorf was one of the first Brazilian researchers to work on tilapia genetics. He coordinated the breeding of a new red variety to solve a problem for Ind\u00fastria Brasileira do Peixe (known by the name Royal Fish), a company based in Jundia\u00ed (S\u00e3o Paulo). It was producing Saint Peter in the late 1990s and was experiencing difficulty importing matrices from Israel.<\/p>\n

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Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/a> Young tilapia of the Fisheries Institute…Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIn 2000 I suggested to the company\u2019s owners that they import a new variety of red tilapia that I had worked on while pursuing my Master\u2019s degree from the Aquaculture Institute of the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, which is called Red-Stirling, a Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) <\/em>mutant that does not have the typical wild black color of tilapia. From this imported red variety, we started a cross-breeding program with the Chitralada black variety in order to genetically improve its performance under the cultivation conditions of the red variety coming from the University of Stirling. The result was a genetically improved fish that is currently sold by the company,\u201d says Hilsdorf (see Pesquisa FAPESP<\/em> Issue n\u00ba 163<\/a>). The experiments and the development of the new Royal Fish variety were funded by projects under FAPESP\u2019s Innovative Research in Small Businesses Program (PIPE).<\/p>\n

Even though black and red tilapia fillets are identical in taste and color, the red ones on display are more attractive to the consumer. \u201cRed gets more attention and it sells more quickly. It reminds us of marine fish and so is more acceptable,\u201d says Hilsdorf. Even with a lower growth performance than the black one, the whole Royal Fish red tilapia sells at the fish farm for R$9.80 per kilo (kg), while black tilapia sells for R$8.50. In S\u00e3o Paulo, the average price per kilo of whole fish in the second quarter of 2016, according to a survey by Embrapa Pesca e Aquicultura, based in Palmas (Tocantins State), was R$12.90, and fresh fillets in supermarkets were R$43.30. The price varies according to the region in Brazil. In Embrapa’s survey, the average price per kilo of the fillet in the Federal District and in the states of S\u00e3o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Cear\u00e1, Paran\u00e1 and Santa Catarina was R$31.23, and of the whole fish, R$12.42.<\/p>\n

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Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/a> …and of adults in breeding tanks of Barragem de Ponte Nova in Sales\u00f3polis (S\u00e3o Paulo State)Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIn the late 1980s, the commercial weight of tilapia was around 500 grams after about six months of cultivation, depending on the region. Today, for example, in the region of Santa F\u00e9, northwest of S\u00e3o Paulo, black tilapia cultivated by Ind\u00fastria Brasileira do Peixe is reaching a weight of 850 grams in six months. The company\u2019s red variety developed in the first breeding phase is reaching a commercial weight of 850 grams after eight months of cultivation,\u201d says Hilsdorf. \u201cWith the experience we now have, we are starting new cross-breeding projects using molecular markers, which are evaluated at UMC by biotechnology graduate students. By having more information on the genomic regions of the tilapia, we can select fish whose offspring will be guaranteed to have the characteristics we would like them to have in order to improve the variety, making it more productive to yield a larger size and more flesh.\u201d One of these lines of research is to identify polymorphisms (differences in the DNA sequence) in the tilapia growth hormone gene. \u201cBased on analysis of four varieties bred in Brazil, we have already identified polymorphisms in the growth hormone gene promoter, and we tested the statistical association of the differences in growth found among those fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another line of research aimed at tilapia breeding involves a tool that is already being used for raising cattle. Veterinarian Jos\u00e9 Fernando Garcia, a professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine of S\u00e3o Paulo State University (Unesp) in Ara\u00e7atuba (S\u00e3o Paulo), would like to build on his experience in developing a bovine DNA chip, which is used commercially to select better breeding dairy cattle. He is working on a chip to select tilapia matrices that are the best breeding stock in order to increase fish yield relative to meat production. \u201cWe were able to extract the DNA from a piece of tilapia fin and, on a slide with nanosensors, we will identify and characterize genomic points called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms), which are variations in DNA that allow individual characterization of each fish,\u201d Garcia explains. \u201cThis tool will make it easier, faster and more efficient to select the matrices. Each pair of tilapia can produce 200 to 300 juveniles per spawning, three to four times a year. The SNPChip will facilitate tilapia breeding which is still in the early stages. Salmon breeding in countries such as Chile and Norway has doubled the size of the fish,\u201d says Garcia.<\/p>\n

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Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/a> SNPChip: will be used to identify genetic markers in tilapia matricesEduardo Cesar <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

To determine the genetic variability of the world\u2019s various strains of Oreochromis niloticus,<\/em> Garcia\u2019s group is collecting DNA from individual specimens that represent commercial and non-commercial varieties of the fish. Genetic markers will be identified from the sample genomic sequences. Then this information will be processed and placed on a microchip by the Illumina company of California. This chip will make it possible to simultaneously analyze hundreds of thousands of tilapia markers. \u201cThis product is expected to be ready by 2017,\u201d says Garcia, who recently asked the university if he could work part-time there so he can dedicate more time to the project at his company, Agropartners Consultoria.<\/p>\n

Researchers are also studying diseases that affect tilapia in Brazil. The most recent study resulted in a vaccine against Streptococcus agalactiae <\/em>bacteria, which was developed at Unesp in Jaboticabal. The micro-organism can cause a fish mortality rate of up to 90% of production at the pre-marketing age (about 800 grams). This pathogen is normally present in the water and infects the fish opportunistically when fish are stressed by overcrowded tanks or sudden temperature variations. The infection causes neurological changes in the skin, bulging eye, and neurological signs such as erratic swimming, caused by hemorrhagic meningoencephalitis. Antibiotics are used to combat the problem, but indiscriminate use of medications leads to contamination of water and springs. \u201cSeveral streptococcal vaccines exist, but we do not have information about their industrial use, often because such information is proprietary. Because of this lack of information, our former doctoral student, Paulo Fernandes Marcusso, proposed sonication, which uses ultrasound to inactivate the bacteria, and utilization of two proteins as immunogens in the vaccine,\u201d says veterinarian Flavio Ruas de Moraes, a professor at the School of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences (FCAV) of Unesp in Jaboticabal. \u201cIn the laboratory tests we performed, the survival rate of the vaccinated fish was 100%,\u201d says Marcusso, now a professor at the State University of Maring\u00e1 (UEM). In addition to Brazil, the bacteria have also been found in fish populations in the United States, Israel and Japan, notes Marcusso. The next step would be to do testing in the field, which requires funding and commitment from an, as yet, nonexistent company.<\/p>\n

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Alexandre Hilsdorf<\/span><\/a> Royal Fish Tilapia, a result of cross breeding Red Stirling, red tilapia, and Chitralada black tilapiaAlexandre Hilsdorf<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

To combat the bacteria that can infect tilapia yet help fish growth, another line of study involves adding probiotics, either bacteria or yeast, to the feed, as shown by two projects carried out at the Fisheries Institute in S\u00e3o Paulo and funded by FAPESP. In the first project coordinated by agronomist-engineer Leonardo Tachibana, the bacteria Enterococcus faecium<\/em>, Bacillus subtilis <\/em>and Lactobacillus acidophilus <\/em>were used to improve feed utilization and increase fish immunity and reduce disease infection rates. \u201cThis process adds 6% to 8% growth to the fish,\u201d says Tachibana. E. faecium<\/em>is is already used in poultry and pork where it is mixed with feed for the same purpose.<\/p>\n

Tachibana says that although figures are not available, the addition of probiotics to the feed outweighs the cost. \u201cOnly 200 grams per ton of feed is used at the juvenile fish stage.\u201d In another project at the Fisheries Institute in S\u00e3o Paulo, biologist Danielle Carla Dias is searching for bacteria in the Nile tilapia itself that can inhibit fish diseases. To do this, she and a group of Institute researchers visited a number of fish farms in Brazil. The result was a collection of 1,125 species of bacteria found in fish, obtained from the mucosa, skin or intestine. \u201cWe have been collecting these bacteria since early 2015, and to date we have tested 30 of them, four of which passed the tests because they showed some benefit,\u201d says Dias. \u201cBy April 2017 we intend to have a probiotic bacterium specific to tilapia and to initiate the first tests on fish.\u201d With support from FAPESP, she has done postdoctoral internships at the University of M\u00e1laga as well as at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography in Spain, where she participated in studies to find probiotic bacteria for marine fish.\u00a0 Such bacteria are now used as additives in the commercial breeding of branzino, sole and mahi-mahi.<\/p>\n

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Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/a> Breeding tanks in Sales\u00f3polis, where UMC performs cross-breeding experiments for genetic improvementEduardo Cesar <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Fillets and cubes<\/strong>
\nThe pattern of fish consumption is also the subject of research. The most recent PIPE project coordinated by Hilsdorf was aimed at getting to know the consumer market for red tilapia and developing processed fish products. The study involving Royal Fish, UMC and the Food Technology Institute (ITAL), based in Campinas (S\u00e3o Paulo State), was started in 2011 and also received funding from the Brazilian Innovation Agency (FINEP). Completed in 2014, the project, among other products, produced fillets cooked in the form of cubes and fresh fillets with sauces similar to products found abroad. The cubed fillets in foil packaging, in the form of bags similar to those used in sauces and pastas, are unprecedented in Brazil. They can be eaten at meals or in the form of snacks. \u201cWe made cooked tilapia fillets cut into pieces with brine. After sterilization, the product is finished and ready to use,\u201d says Jos\u00e9 Ricardo Gon\u00e7alves, a researcher at ITAL. There have also been several tasting sessions to assess consumer reaction. The cubed and cooked fillet had an acceptance rating of 70% and a rejection rate of 20%, and 10% were indifferent. After the studies, Royal Fish will analyze which products are suitable for the market.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Intense growth
\n<\/strong>Rising production shows the importance of tilapia in Brazilian aquaculture<\/em><\/p>\n

Tilapia is the most cultivated fish in Brazil. In 2015, 219,000 metric tons were caught (slaughtered and sold), according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). This number increased by 9.7% compared to 2014 and almost 10 times since 1998, when 30,000 metric tons were sold. The largest producing regions are in Cear\u00e1, mainly in the municipality of Jaguaribara; S\u00e3o Paulo, in the cities of Santa F\u00e9 do Sul and Rifaina; in addition to Toledo, in Paran\u00e1 State; and Gloria, Bahia State. According to IBGE, last year production amounted to R$1.177 billion. Chitralada tilapia is one of the most readily available varieties in Brazil; it has been in the country since 1996 and is a descendant of tilapia from Egypt that was imported to Japan and later improved in Thailand. Another variety is GIFT, which stands for genetically improved farmed tilapia, the result of a 10-year project (1988-1997) to produce a genetically superior variety of tilapia at the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), now the WorldFish Center, based in Malaysia. GIFT was introduced in Brazil in 2005 through a partnership between the State University of Maring\u00e1 (UEM) in Paran\u00e1 and the WorldFish Center, with the collaboration of the former Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Companhia de Desenvolvimento Agropecu\u00e1rio do Paran\u00e1 (Codapar). The Informativo Mercado da Til\u00e1pia <\/em>[Tilapia Market Report], <\/em>of February 2016, published by Embrapa Pesca e Aquicultura, indicates that Brazil exported 171 metric tons of fresh tilapia fillets to the United States in 2015, 97% of Brazil\u2019s total foreign tilapia trade, which amounted to US$1.3 million. By the first quarter of 2016, also according to Embrapa, exports had already surpassed the 2015 figure, with 188 metric tons exported, amounting to US$1.5 million.<\/p>\n

Projects<\/strong>
\n1.<\/strong> Adding value to the industrialization process of red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus<\/em>) (n\u00ba\u00a02011\/51143-0<\/a>);\u00a0Grant Mechanism<\/strong>\u00a0Program to Support Research in Small Business (PAPPE-PIPE); Principal Investigator<\/strong>\u00a0Alexandre Wagner Silva Hilsdorf (UMC); Investment <\/strong>R$102,237.95 (FAPESP) and R$83,298.37 (FINEP).
\n2.<\/strong> Genetic and zootechnical evaluation of two varieties of Nile tilapia for the establishment of a mass production program for a hybrid (n\u00ba 2001\/08416-4<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong>\u00a0Innovative Research in Small Businesses Program (PIPE); Principal Investigator<\/strong>\u00a0Alexandre Wagner Silva Hilsdorf (UMC); Investment<\/strong>\u00a0R$123,642.39 and US$8,998.66
\n3.<\/strong> Selection of micro-organisms isolated from tilapia for use as probiotic in fish (n\u00ba 2014\/15390-1<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong>\u00a0Young investigators in Emerging Institutions; Principal Investigator<\/strong>\u00a0Danielle de Carla Dias (Institute of Fisheries); Investment<\/strong>\u00a0R$142,089.84 and US$46,703.86.
\n4.<\/strong> Probiotics in the feeding of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus<\/em> (n\u00ba 2013\/09731-8<\/a>); Grant Mechanism\u00a0<\/strong>Regular Research Grant; Principal Investigator<\/strong>\u00a0Leonardo Tachibana (Fisheries Institute); Investment <\/strong>R$168,296.53 and US$36,739.96.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles<\/em>
\nDIAS, M.A. et al<\/em>. Evaluation of the genetic diversity of microsatellite markers among four strains of Oreochromis niloticus<\/em><\/a>. Animal Genetics<\/strong>. V. 47 No. 3, pp. 345-53. June 2016.
\nLAGO, A. A. et al<\/em>. The development of genetically improved red tilapia lines through the backcross breeding of two Oreochromis niloticus<\/em> strains<\/a>. Aquaculture<\/strong>. Online. June 30, 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Studies on tilapia have resulted in a new variety, a vaccine and probiotics","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1560,169],"tags":[206,209,237,243,251],"coauthors":[97],"class_list":["post-237904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-innovative-research-in-small-business-pipe-en","category-technology","tag-biodiversity","tag-biology","tag-genetics","tag-innovation","tag-nutrition"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237904"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=237904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}