Identification of histological and immunological indicators of larvae/juvenile quality in marine fish species

Supervisor: Prof. Marco Galeotti

Co-supervisors: dott.ssa Paola Beraldo and dott.ssa Donatella Volpatti

European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) are, by volume, the third and fourth most farmed fish species in the EU. These two species contribute significantly to wealth and job creation in rural and coastal areas. However, due to the rapid emergence of non-EU competitor farmers, production of sea bream/bass in the EU countries has remained stagnant for the last decade and the industry faces significant sustainability challenges.

It is now largely recognized that the success of mariculture strictly depends on the production of good quality larvae/juveniles, nevertheless the hatchery phase still remains one of the main bottlenecks of this sector. For this reason, many studies still focus on improving larval quality and its assessment, in order to early recognize and remove troubles limiting fish production; in this light my PhD research is collocated within the framework of the H2020 project named PerformFISH which aims, among many objectives, at optimizing and validating prognostic biomarkers of sea bass and sea bream larval and juvenile quality. During my doctorate I'm working on identifying histological indicators that can respond to the purposes of the project. Histology is a tool largely used in fish studies as it is recognized that every biotic and abiotic factor has an effect on organ microanatomy. As these effects are often detectable with histology before the onset of other symptoms, it can be an effective tool for promptly recognize problems in larval batches and provide farmers with information about the impact of their managerial practices. I am focusing on the construction of a histological Multiparametric Semi-quantitative Scoring System that allows, also with the help of histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, to obtain a complete histological configuration of the assessed larval batch. This system is being validated through the evaluation of numerous sea bream and sea bass batches of from 3 European hatcheries.

Biography and contacts

Valentina Pacorig was born in 1989 in Palmanova (Italy). In 2013 she graduated in Animal Production Science (110/110 cum laude) and in 2016 graduated in Animal Nutrition and Resources Master (110/110 cum laude) at Udine University (Italy). From December 2016 to June 2017 she collaborated with the “Museo Friulano di Storia Naturale” of Udine as post-graduated resident. In 2017 she started the doctoral course at the PhD school “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine under the supervision of Prof. Marco Galeotti (Section of Animal and Veterinary Science).

E-mail: pacorig.valentina@spes.uniud.it

Phone: +39 0432 558173