GenoSysFat 1: Salmon feed-switch experiment vegetable ? fish oil 2015-2016

This experiment is designed to pinpoint where in the metabolic network there are differences between salmon on different diets. Analyses of this material will help inform feeding and breeding strategies. Salmon were reared on feeds with contrasting levels of very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Then some fish were crossed over to the other diet while others remain as controls. This perturbation of diet should provoke changes in omega-3 metabolism that are evident in RNA expression, protein expression and eventually in the fatty acid composition of tissues. We also hypothesize that gut microbiota may be affected and/or modulate the effect of the feed switch. A dietary switch experiment in fresh- and seawater will provide data for a rich phenotypic characterization of the metabolic steady states under different diets. The outcome (the effects of diet and environment interactions) will form the fundamental basis for systems biology analyses and represent a valuable metabolic reference database for future studies.