About the project

• Background

  As the human population surges towards 10 billion, efficient production of aquaculture commodities such as salmon are required to ensure long-term food security. The rising demand for aquafeeds, coupled with the scarcity of fish meal, has driven the search for alternative protein (AP) sources. Differential health impacts of APs derived from plants, insects, yeasts and fish byproducts have been reported, although details on individual molecules and mechanisms triggering detrimental effects on the fish remain to be elucidated. SalmoPro will go beyond the state-of-the art in the understanding of how individual protein and carbohydrate components in APs determine digestive, immunological and microbial responses that impact salmon health and performance.

• Objectives

  SalmoPro aims at establishing new knowledge on the fate of APs from different sources in the salmon gut and translate this knowledge into the development of novel solutions to overcome challenges in the aquaculture industry.

  Subgoals are:

  PO1: Determine the fate of APs from different sources in the salmon gut, specifically how component proteins within these sources interact with the host through gut compartment-specific metabolic processes.

  PO2: Uncover the mechanisms of the gut microbiota that support AP utilization, either by utilizing proteins and peptides that escape host digestion and/or by degrading the carbohydrate fractions entrapping them, thus allowing higher release of proteins, peptides and host-absorbable amino acids from the feeds.

  PO3: Develop microbiota-based strategies and enzyme cocktails to boost AP digestibility and nutrient release, while promoting beneficial salmon-microbiota interactions.

• Publications

  Sandholm RM, Rojas Calderón D, Hansen MT, Chowreddy RR, Vaaje-Kolstad G, La Rosa SL. Biodegradation of components from an oxidized polyethylene by a Rhodococcus strain isolated from the gut of Atlantic salmon. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2026 Jul 10:e0017426. doi: 10.1128/aem.00174-26.

  Rojas Calderón D, Sandholm RM, Samskott T, Mjøs MT, Lorentsen ED, Røhr ÅK, Bakke I, La Rosa SL. Genotypic characterization of gut isolates from Atlantic salmon fry reveals beneficial microbes with biotechnological potential. Appl Environ Microbiol 0:e02409-25. doi.org/10.1128/aem.02409-25.

Participants

Sabina Leanti La Rosa

Associate Professor

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Project Leader,

Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science

Vincent Eijsink

Professor

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Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science

Esteban López Tavera

Post Doctor

Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science

Dave Rojas Calderon

PhD student

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Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science

Turid Mørkøre

Professor

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Faculty of Biosciences

Phil Pope

Professor

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Centre for Microbiome Research, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia

August 2026: We are delighted to welcome Oskar Solberg Lægland as a Master’s student in SalmoPro. Oskar will investigate how salmon gut microbes interact with carbohydrate components in their feed.

July 2026: A postdoctoral research fellow has been hired and will start in SalmoPro in October 2026. Exciting times ahead..

June 2026: The second paper of SalmoPro is now published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Take a look at this study, led by Ronja M. Sandholm , here

March 2026: More work within SalmoPro, this time focusing on a salmon gut microbe able to degrade derivatives of polyethylene, a common plastic. The study is led by Ronja M. Sandholm and a pre-print is available here

February 2026: The first paper of SalmoPro is now published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Take a look at this study, led by Dave Rojas Calderon, here