KRuMBS: Kyphosid Ruminant Microbial Biodigestor of Seaweeds

The broad goal of this project is to develop a novel, highly efficient process for the biological conversion of macroalgae biomass to biofuels and bioproducts and thus provide the critically needed pathway for monetization of large-scale marine macroalgae aquaculture (such as from ARPAE's MARINER program). The specific goal of this study was to profile the microbiota and metabolomes along the alimentary tract of "ruminant" herbivorous reef fish of the Family Kyphosidae (Nenue, Sea Chubs, or Rudderfish), with the hope of elucidating players in the digestion of marine macroalgae to useful metabolites.