Publications by authors named "Leonidas Papaharisis"

Total protein levels in fish are widely used in health and welfare studies, providing a simple and accessible measure. However, the multifaceted role of blood proteins makes it sometimes challenging to link total protein content to specific health issues, while specific protein fractions may offer more precise insights into fish biology and health, particularly in farmed fish species where such data is often lacking. Data were gathered from two experiments involving Dicentrarchus labrax and Sparus aurata, key species in European marine aquaculture.

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Viral infections of teleost fish have great environmental and economic implications in aquaculture. Nervous necrosis virus (NNV) is a pathogen affecting more than 120 different species, causing high mortality and morbidity. Herein, we studied the course of NNV experimental infection of , focusing on survivors which indicated viral carrier state.

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The large use of fish meal/fish oil in carnivorous fish feeds is the main concern regarding environmental sustainability of aquaculture. Here, we evaluated the effects of an innovative diet, designed to be (1) environmentally sustainable by lowering the marine protein content while being (2) cost effective by using sustainable alternative raw materials with acceptable cost and produced on an industrial scale, on growth performance, gut microbiota composition, health and welfare of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), a key species of the Mediterranean marine aquaculture, reared in sea cages. Results show that the specific growth rate of fish fed the low marine protein diet was significantly lower than those fed conventional diet (0.

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There has been thorough research on the genotype by diet interaction and the extent of its impact on the genetic evaluation, using a partly replaced marine animal protein on the gilthead seabream. To do that, 8356 individuals were gathered from two batches and followed different diets: a high-plant-protein diet containing 85% plant proteins and a standard commercial one containing 30% marine animal protein. During the experiment, body weight, growth and fat content were recorded.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Viral nervous necrosis (VNN) is a serious disease affecting European sea bass caused by a specific virus (RGNNV), particularly impacting young fish in aquaculture settings.
  • - To investigate genetic resistance to VNN, researchers tested 4,851 individuals from different year classes and identified relevant genetic markers through genome-wide association analysis, revealing important gene regions linked to disease resistance.
  • - The study found that genetic information provided better predictions for breeding values (20-43% more accurate) compared to traditional pedigree methods, highlighting the potential for improved breeding strategies in aquaculture.
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The majority of the genetic studies in aquaculture breeding programs focus on commercial traits such as body weight, morphology, and resistance against diseases. However, studying stress response in European seabass may contribute to the understanding of the genetic component of stress and its future use to select broodstock whose offspring may potentially be less affected by handling. A total of 865 European seabass offspring were used to measure body weight and stress response.

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Aquaculture production has globally increased and its environmental impact is not well understood and assessed yet. Therefore, in this work nine metals and metalloids (Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni, Fe, Mn, Zn and As) and three nutrients (P, N and C) that seem to accumulate in marine sediments, were determined under the fish cages (zero distance) and about 50 and 100 m away from them, in three aquacultures in Greece. The analysis of these data is crucial due to the negative impact of the intensive aquaculture activities on fish population, human health and marine environment.

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There is a growing interest in selective breeding in European sea bass (), especially regarding family selection based on growth performance. In particular, quantitative trait loci (QTL) identification in sea bass enhances the application of marker-assisted breeding for the genetic improvement of the production traits. The aims of the study were to identify potential QTL affecting stress and immunological indicators, body weight, and mortality after vibriosis injection in sea bass as well as to estimate heritability and genetic/phenotypic correlations for the aforementioned traits.

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Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) is a teleost of considerable economic importance in Southern European aquaculture. The aquaculture industry shows a growing interest in the application of genetic methods that can locate phenotype-genotype associations with high economic impact. Through selective breeding, the aquaculture industry can exploit this information to maximize the financial yield.

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The impact of intensive aquaculture activities on marine sediments along three coastal areas in Greece was studied. The content of nine metals/metalloids (Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni, Fe, Mn, Zn, As), and three nutrients (P, N and C), that seem to accumulate in marine sediments, was determined under the fish cages (zero distance) and away (50 or 100 m) from them. Elevated concentrations for phosphorus, nitrogen, copper, zinc and cadmium were recorded in the areas where farming establishments are moored.

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The purpose of this study was to structurally characterise the polar lipids of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), fed with an experimental diet containing olive pomace (OP), that exhibit cardioprotective activities. OP has been added to conventional fish oil (FO) feed at 4% and this was the OP diet, having been supplemented as finishing diet to fish. Sea bass was aquacultured using either FO or OP diet.

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Given the pivotal role of Platelet-Activating-Factor (PAF) in atherosclerosis and the cardio-protective role of PAF-inhibitors derived from olive pomace, the inclusion of olive pomace in fish feed has been studied for gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). The aim of the current research was to elucidate the anti-atherogenic properties of specific HPLC lipid fractions obtained from olive pomace, olive pomace enriched fish feed and fish fed with the olive pomace enriched fish feed, by evaluating their in vitro biological activity against washed rabbit platelets. This in vitro study underlines that olive pomace inclusion in fish feed improves the nutritional value of both fish feed and fish possibly by enriching the marine lipid profile of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) with specific bioactive lipid compounds of plant origin.

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