Émilie Proulx

Establishment of a real-time PCR method for quantification of geosmin-producing Streptomyces spp. in recirculating aquaculture systems.

Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) have been associated with off-flavour problems in fish and seafood products, generating a strong negative impact for aquaculture industries. Although most of the producers of geosmin and MIB have been identified as Streptomyces species or cyanobacteria, Streptomyces spp. are thought to be responsible for the synthesis of these compounds in indoor recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). The detection of genes involved in the synthesis of geosmin and MIB can be a relevant indicator of the beginning of off-flavour events in RAS. Here, we report a real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) protocol targeting geoA sequences that encode a germacradienol synthase involved in geosmin synthesis. New geoA-related sequences were retrieved from eleven geosmin-producing Actinomycete strains, among them two Streptomyces strains isolated from two RAS. Combined with geoA-related sequences available in gene databases, we designed primers and standards suitable for qPCR assays targeting mainly Streptomyces geoA. Using our qPCR protocol, we succeeded in measuring the level of geoA copies in sand filter and biofilters in two RAS. This study is the first to apply qPCR assays to detect and quantify the geosmin synthesis gene (geoA) in RAS. Quantification of geoA in RAS could permit the monitoring of the level of geosmin producers prior to the occurrence of geosmin production. This information will be most valuable for fish producers to manage further development of off-flavour events.

Impact of water quality on the bacterial populations and off‐flavours in recirculating aquaculture systems

A variety of factors affecting water quality in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are associated with the occurrence of off-flavours. In this study, we report the impact of water quality on the bacterial diversity and the occurrence of the geosmin-synthesis gene (geoA) in two RAS units operated for 252 days. Unit 2 displayed a higher level of turbidity and phosphate, which affected the fresh water quality compared with unit 1. In the biofilter, nitrification is one of the major processes by which high water quality is maintained. The bacterial population observed in the unit 1 biofilter was more stable throughout the experiment, with a higher level of nitrifying bacteria compared with the unit 2 biofilter. Geosmin appeared in fish flesh after 84 days in unit 2, whereas it appeared in unit 1 after 168 days, but at a much lower level. The geoA gene was detected in both units, 28 days prior to the detection of geosmin in fish flesh. In addition, we detected sequences associated with Sorangium and Nannocystis (Myxococcales): members of these genera are known to produce geosmin. These sequences were observed at an earlier time in unit 2 and at a higher level than in unit 1. This study confirms the advantages of new molecular methods to understand the occurrence of geosmin production in RAS.

A Practical Approach for Sexing Zebrafish, Danio rerio

This study aimed at a simple, rapid, reliable, practical, and non-destructive sexing technique for mature zebrafish (0.61 ± 0.011 g each). In the first experiment, 36 fish of each sex were selected on the basis of the presence of a prominent genital papilla on mature females and bred randomly. All the couples laid fertilized eggs with a mean fecundity of 304 eggs per female, for a 100% sexing accuracy. In the second experiment, 140 mature zebrafish were randomly selected and individually sexed like in the first experiment. Each fish was then dissected in order to confirm the reliability of this sexing technique through the observation of either the ovaries or the testes. Upon dissection, an accuracy of 100% was recorded. This study demonstrates that sexing mature zebrafish only on the basis of the presence of a prominent genital papilla on the mature female is a reliable technique.

Establishment of a comprehensive reference transcriptome for vertebral bone tissue to study the impacts of nutritional phosphorus deficiency in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum).

Reducing dietary phosphorus (P) is a common approach to reduce effluent P outputs. The potential resulting P-deficiency is known to negatively impact fish bone condition and might result in vertebral deformities. To date, no large-scale study involving deep sequencing of the bone transcriptome has been conducted in salmonids and vertebral molecular changes remain poorly described. This study aims to provide the first comprehensive vertebral transcriptome for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to allow functional and quantitative expression studies. Fish weighing 60.8±1.6g, were fed for 27weeks using two practical diets having 0.29% (deficient) and 0.45% (sufficient) available phosphorus (P), respectively. Deep sequencing was conducted using HiSeq2000 Illumina 100 paired-end technology from pooled P-deficient and P-sufficient fish and individuals displaying vertebral deformities. Over 140 million trimmed paired-end reads were assembled de novo with Trinity and resulted in 679,869 transcripts with a mean length of 542.5bp. From these sequences, 340,747 matched with referenced ESTs from rainbow trout. Furthermore, 141,909 and 117,564 sequences were functionally annotated against Nr and Uniprot databases, respectively. Interestingly, we observed putative homologue sequences for most of the key components involved in bone formation and turnover in mammals.

Hybridization between char species (Salvelinus alpinus and Salvelinus fontinalis): a fast track for novel allometric trajectories

ABSTRACT Hybridization between closely related species can generate genetic and phenotypic variation, providing valuable biological material to assess the physiological impact of the structural or functional variability of different organs. In the present study, we examined growth rates of various organs and whole body in brook char, Arctic char and their reciprocal hybrids over a period of 281 days. Parental species achieved significantly higher body mass than their hybrids. Hybridization significantly reduced the relative size of the heart, liver and spleen. The relative size of pyloric caeca did not differ among the four groups. The observed lower growth performance of the hybrids compared to parental species strongly suggests that divergence in the relative size of digestive organs, liver and heart partly dictate growth capacity. Our results also suggest that the increased variability achieved through hybridization may prove useful in a genetic selection program. Summary: This research provides a comprehensive overview of the phenotypic modifications in growth trajectories of body size and internal organs following interspecific hybridization in chars.

RNA-Seq Transcriptome Analysis of Pronounced Biconcave Vertebrae: A Common Abnormality in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum) Fed a Low-Phosphorus Diet

The prevalence of bone deformities, particularly linked with mineral deficiency, is an important issue for fish production. Juvenile triploid rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were fed a low-phosphorus (P) diet for 27 weeks (60 to 630 g body mass). At study termination, 24.9% of the fish fed the low-P diet displayed homogeneous biconcave vertebrae (deformed vertebrae phenotype), while 5.5% displayed normal vertebral phenotypes for the entire experiment. The aim of our study was to characterize the deformed phenotype and identify the putative genes involved in the appearance of P deficiency-induced deformities. Both P status and biomechanical measurements showed that deformed vertebrae were significantly less mineralized (55.0 ± 0.4 and 59.4 ± 0.5,% ash DM, for deformed and normal vertebrae, respectively) resulting in a lower stiffness (80.3 ± 9.0 and 140.2 ± 6.3 N/mm, for deformed and normal phenotypes, respectively). The bone profiles based on μCT observations showed no difference in the osteoclastic resorption while no difference in matrix production was observed between deformed (total bone area 5442.0 ± 110.1 μm2) and normal vertebrae (total bone area 5931.2 ± 249.8 μm2) in this study. Consequently, the lower P content rather results from a reduced degree of mineralization in the deformed phenotype. Finally, we quantified differential gene expression between deformed vertebrae (pronounced biconcave) and normal phenotype by employing deep RNA-sequencing and mapping against a reference bone transcriptome for rainbow trout. In total, 1289 genes were differentially expressed. Among them, in deformed fish we observed that BGLAP, MGP and NOG, an inhibitor of BMP signalling pathway, were up-regulated while COL11a1 was down-regulated. These genes are central actors involved in the reduced degree of mineralization triggering vertebral deformities. These results will further the understanding of P deficiency-induced deformities; hence providing new tools for improved P management in production settings