Abstract
Coastal zones support fisheries that provide food for humans and feed for animals. The decline of fisheries worldwide has fostered the development of aquaculture. Recent research has shown that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) synthesized by microorganisms contribute to sustainable aquaculture production, providing feed to the cultured species, removing waste and contributing to the hygiene of closed systems. As ubiquitous components of coastal microbial habitats at the air–seawater and seawater–sediment interfaces as well as of biofilms and microbial aggregates, EPS mediate deleterious processes that affect the performance and productivity of aquaculture facilities, including biofouling of marine cages, bioaccumulation and transport of pollutants. These biomolecules may also contribute to the persistence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and their impact on cultured species. EPS may also exert a positive influence on aquaculture activity by enhancing the settling of aquaculturally valuable larvae and treating wastes in bioflocculation processes. EPS display properties that may have biotechnological applications in the aquaculture industry as antiviral agents and immunostimulants and as a novel source of antifouling bioproducts.
Highlights
Coastal regions are comprised of the continental shelf, the intertidal zone and adjacent land within 100 km of the coastline [1]
Since extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) mediate the irreversible attachment of microorganisms to surfaces, the search of natural compounds that interfere with EPS adhesion would be useful in providing insight into the molecular mechanisms of microbial adhesion to inert surfaces
Chemical cues that signal habitat and illicit larval settlement are a common denominator for a wide range of sessile marine taxa with settlement initiated in response to conspecifics, host organisms and microbial biofilms
Summary
Coastal regions are comprised of the continental shelf (to a depth of 200 m), the intertidal zone and adjacent land within 100 km of the coastline [1]. Sandy beaches, mudflats, saltmarshes, mangrove forests, deltas and coral reefs [2] These regions provide goods and services including recognizable mineral and oil resources, construction materials, human and animal food, recreation and living sites, energy sources and biotechnological products, among others [1,3], along with less tangible benefits including ecosystem services such as erosion and flood control, carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat [4]. Using a more restricted definition and for the purpose of this review, marine aquaculture will refer to culturing activities of marine species in shore-based installations (i.e., marine fishes), marine cage aquaculture and shellfish farming This emphasis is justified since shellfish and finfish productions represent 25% of global animal marine aquaculture, 75% being for shellfish production (e.g., mussel, oyster, lobster) and the remainder for finfish such as salmon and bream [6], because both open-ocean and deep-sea aquaculture are still nascent fields. We felt it appropriate to emphasize EPS properties that may have future biotechnological implications for the aquaculture industry
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