Effects of single cell protein-based fishmeal replacements on growth performance, blood chemical compositions, parasite resistance, and transcriptomic responses in tiger pufferfish, Takifugu rubripes

The rising price and the sustainable use of fishmeal drive aquaculture industry to eagerly seek alternative protein resources. The commercial diet of tiger pufferfish, Takifugu rubripes, in Japan contains high level of fishmeal as the protein source and thus the replacements are demanded. In this study, the effects of four low fish meal diets, of which 37.5% of fishmeal were replaced by plant (PP), bacteria (BAC), or yeast (LY) derived ingredients and 62.5% by yeast (HY) on growth performance, blood chemical values, transcriptomic responses in liver tissues, and parasitic resistance to Heterobothrium okamotoi were compared with the control diet (FM) in which fishmeal accounts 80% of the ingredients using 360 cultured one-year-old tiger pufferfish.