By Development Communication Section
Back-to-back seminars were held on 15 August at SEAFDEC/AQD’s main station in Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines. Dr. Tsuyoshi Sugita of Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences and AQD’s Dr. Ma. Michelle Peñaranda presented their studies, respectively, on Effect of taurine supplementation in fish meal-based and soybean meal-based diets for yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) fingerlings and Purification and characterization of agarases and carrageenases from polysaccharide-lysing bacterial isolates of seaweeds and herbivorous aquaculture species.
Dr. Sugita noted that supplementing the soybean meal-based diets with 2% taurine resulted to improved growth, oxygen transport, and liver condition of yellowtail fingerlings. Dr. Peñaranda, on the other hand, isolated bacterial strains from degraded seaweeds and abalone digestive tract with strong agar and carrageenan-lysing abilities, respectively; further studies are needed for practical application of these bacterial enzymes.