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From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets
Fernando Naya-Català 
,
Ricardo Domingo-Bretón ,
Qinge Ma ,
Paul George Holhorea ,
Álvaro Belenguer ,
Federico Moroni ,
Josep Calduch-Giner ,
Alla Silkina ,
Danny Van Mullem,
Ronald Halim ,
Jaume Pérez-Sánchez
,
Ricardo Domingo-Bretón ,
Qinge Ma ,
Paul George Holhorea ,
Álvaro Belenguer ,
Federico Moroni ,
Josep Calduch-Giner ,
Alla Silkina ,
Danny Van Mullem,
Ronald Halim ,
Jaume Pérez-Sánchez
Aquaculture Nutrition, Volume: 2026, Start page: 1003936
Swansea University Author:
Alla Silkina
-
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© 2026 Fernando Naya-Català et al. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1155/anu/1003936
Abstract
The microalgae cultivated from brewery waste was considered a sustainable feed ingredient for gilthead sea bream ( ), evaluating physiological, molecular and microbial responses. Over 96 days, fish were fed four isoproteic and isolipidic diets: a commercial-based diet (D1), and three fishmeal-free d...
| Published in: | Aquaculture Nutrition |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1365-2095 |
| Published: |
Wiley
2026
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72127 |
| first_indexed |
2026-06-19T12:35:49Z |
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2026-06-20T05:03:13Z |
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<?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-06-19T13:37:39.0825904</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>72127</id><entry>2026-06-19</entry><title>From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>216d36449db09ed98c6971a2254a2457</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-1804-8083</ORCID><firstname>Alla</firstname><surname>Silkina</surname><name>Alla Silkina</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2026-06-19</date><deptcode>BGPS</deptcode><abstract>The microalgae cultivated from brewery waste was considered a sustainable feed ingredient for gilthead sea bream ( ), evaluating physiological, molecular and microbial responses. Over 96 days, fish were fed four isoproteic and isolipidic diets: a commercial-based diet (D1), and three fishmeal-free diets with increasing inclusion levels (0%, D2; 2%, D3; 14%, D4). The D4 diet was additionally supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich algae oil instead of fish oil (FO). Growth performance remained almost equal in fish fed all the fishmeal-free diets with only a slight and final improvement (<4%) in the control D1 fish, although an enhanced expression with a discriminant capacity was reported for hepatic growth-related markers ( and ) in D4 fish. Gene expression profiling also revealed a down-regulation of fatty acid synthesis in combination with the up-regulation of tissue lipid-uptake genes, mostly linked to the dietary DHA enrichment. Antioxidant capacity was increased in both D3-D4 fish, suggesting a progressive activation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic defences with the dietary microalgae diets (D3-D4). Moreover, intestinal transcriptomic profiling revealed a tightly regulated immune milieu, with coordinated modulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways indicative of an immune surveillance state induced by dietary microalgae. Water microbiota also shifted with diet composition, indicating a link between feeding strategy and environmental microbial communities. Taking all together, inclusion, particularly when combined with DHA-rich microalgae oil, enhances fish health, immune and antioxidant status and beneficial gut microbiota markers. Altogether makes the circularly-produced a valuable resource for the sustainable development of aquaculture feeds.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Aquaculture Nutrition</journal><volume>2026</volume><journalNumber/><paginationStart>1003936</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Wiley</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>1365-2095</issnElectronic><keywords>aquafeed circular economy, brewery wastewater, gut microbiota, Nannochloropsis, transcriptomics, water microbiota</keywords><publishedDay>21</publishedDay><publishedMonth>5</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2026</publishedYear><publishedDate>2026-05-21</publishedDate><doi>10.1155/anu/1003936</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Biosciences Geography and Physics School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>BGPS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>Another institution paid the OA fee</apcterm><funders>This work was funded by the ‘AlgaeBrew: Unlocking the potential of microalgae for the valorisation of brewery waste products into omega-3 rich animal feed and fertilisers’ transnational EU project (ERA-NET’s SUSFOOD2-FOSC joint call in innovative solutions for resilient, climate-smart and sustainable food systems; Project ID 2021SUSFOODFOSCEN101). The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland, for their financial support. Fernando Naya-Català was funded by the CSIC-MOMENTUM (DigiAcuaSOS; MMT24-IATS-01-01) postdoctoral contract, funded by the MRR–Next Generation EU, within the framework of the General Call of the public business entity Red.es to participate in talent attraction and retention programs under Investment 4 of Component 19 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). 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2026-06-19T13:37:39.0825904 v2 72127 2026-06-19 From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets 216d36449db09ed98c6971a2254a2457 0000-0002-1804-8083 Alla Silkina Alla Silkina true false 2026-06-19 BGPS The microalgae cultivated from brewery waste was considered a sustainable feed ingredient for gilthead sea bream ( ), evaluating physiological, molecular and microbial responses. Over 96 days, fish were fed four isoproteic and isolipidic diets: a commercial-based diet (D1), and three fishmeal-free diets with increasing inclusion levels (0%, D2; 2%, D3; 14%, D4). The D4 diet was additionally supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich algae oil instead of fish oil (FO). Growth performance remained almost equal in fish fed all the fishmeal-free diets with only a slight and final improvement (<4%) in the control D1 fish, although an enhanced expression with a discriminant capacity was reported for hepatic growth-related markers ( and ) in D4 fish. Gene expression profiling also revealed a down-regulation of fatty acid synthesis in combination with the up-regulation of tissue lipid-uptake genes, mostly linked to the dietary DHA enrichment. Antioxidant capacity was increased in both D3-D4 fish, suggesting a progressive activation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic defences with the dietary microalgae diets (D3-D4). Moreover, intestinal transcriptomic profiling revealed a tightly regulated immune milieu, with coordinated modulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways indicative of an immune surveillance state induced by dietary microalgae. Water microbiota also shifted with diet composition, indicating a link between feeding strategy and environmental microbial communities. Taking all together, inclusion, particularly when combined with DHA-rich microalgae oil, enhances fish health, immune and antioxidant status and beneficial gut microbiota markers. Altogether makes the circularly-produced a valuable resource for the sustainable development of aquaculture feeds. Journal Article Aquaculture Nutrition 2026 1003936 Wiley 1365-2095 aquafeed circular economy, brewery wastewater, gut microbiota, Nannochloropsis, transcriptomics, water microbiota 21 5 2026 2026-05-21 10.1155/anu/1003936 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This work was funded by the ‘AlgaeBrew: Unlocking the potential of microalgae for the valorisation of brewery waste products into omega-3 rich animal feed and fertilisers’ transnational EU project (ERA-NET’s SUSFOOD2-FOSC joint call in innovative solutions for resilient, climate-smart and sustainable food systems; Project ID 2021SUSFOODFOSCEN101). The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland, for their financial support. Fernando Naya-Català was funded by the CSIC-MOMENTUM (DigiAcuaSOS; MMT24-IATS-01-01) postdoctoral contract, funded by the MRR–Next Generation EU, within the framework of the General Call of the public business entity Red.es to participate in talent attraction and retention programs under Investment 4 of Component 19 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). Federico Moroni was funded by the Generalitat Valenciana through the postdoctoral programme APOSTD (Grant CIAPOS/2024/092), co-funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (FSE+). 2026-06-19T13:37:39.0825904 2026-06-19T13:30:19.3339902 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Fernando Naya-Català 0000-0003-0553-109X 1 Ricardo Domingo-Bretón 0000-0003-2933-236X 2 Qinge Ma 0000-0001-7349-1718 3 Paul George Holhorea 0000-0003-0933-8895 4 Álvaro Belenguer 0000-0002-9186-3463 5 Federico Moroni 0000-0003-1566-5956 6 Josep Calduch-Giner 0000-0003-3124-5986 7 Alla Silkina 0000-0002-1804-8083 8 Danny Van Mullem 9 Ronald Halim 0000-0002-7728-8888 10 Jaume Pérez-Sánchez 0000-0003-2506-1523 11 72127__37014__f107a3d86a584f36a8e801b614f1b940.pdf 72127.VOR.pdf 2026-06-19T13:34:31.8479608 Output 4554964 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 Fernando Naya-Català et al. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| title |
From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets |
| spellingShingle |
From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets Alla Silkina |
| title_short |
From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets |
| title_full |
From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets |
| title_fullStr |
From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets |
| title_full_unstemmed |
From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets |
| title_sort |
From Brewery Waste to Sustainable Aquafeed: Harnessing Nannochloropsis Microalgae for Fishmeal-Free Gilthead Sea Bream Diets |
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216d36449db09ed98c6971a2254a2457 |
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216d36449db09ed98c6971a2254a2457_***_Alla Silkina |
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Alla Silkina |
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Fernando Naya-Català Ricardo Domingo-Bretón Qinge Ma Paul George Holhorea Álvaro Belenguer Federico Moroni Josep Calduch-Giner Alla Silkina Danny Van Mullem Ronald Halim Jaume Pérez-Sánchez |
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Wiley |
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The microalgae cultivated from brewery waste was considered a sustainable feed ingredient for gilthead sea bream ( ), evaluating physiological, molecular and microbial responses. Over 96 days, fish were fed four isoproteic and isolipidic diets: a commercial-based diet (D1), and three fishmeal-free diets with increasing inclusion levels (0%, D2; 2%, D3; 14%, D4). The D4 diet was additionally supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich algae oil instead of fish oil (FO). Growth performance remained almost equal in fish fed all the fishmeal-free diets with only a slight and final improvement (<4%) in the control D1 fish, although an enhanced expression with a discriminant capacity was reported for hepatic growth-related markers ( and ) in D4 fish. Gene expression profiling also revealed a down-regulation of fatty acid synthesis in combination with the up-regulation of tissue lipid-uptake genes, mostly linked to the dietary DHA enrichment. Antioxidant capacity was increased in both D3-D4 fish, suggesting a progressive activation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic defences with the dietary microalgae diets (D3-D4). Moreover, intestinal transcriptomic profiling revealed a tightly regulated immune milieu, with coordinated modulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways indicative of an immune surveillance state induced by dietary microalgae. Water microbiota also shifted with diet composition, indicating a link between feeding strategy and environmental microbial communities. Taking all together, inclusion, particularly when combined with DHA-rich microalgae oil, enhances fish health, immune and antioxidant status and beneficial gut microbiota markers. Altogether makes the circularly-produced a valuable resource for the sustainable development of aquaculture feeds. |
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2026-05-21T06:03:13Z |
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11.109323 |