Biomarker Technologies Outlines Omics Strategies for Aquatic Animal Research

Biomarker Technologies (BMKGene) has published "Omics Strategies in Aquatic Animal Research," a comprehensive overview of how multi-omics technologies are being applied to the study of aquatic animals. The report addresses fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and other marine invertebrates.

The analysis highlights the current state of omics resources, noting an imbalance with abundant data for fish species compared to significantly less available data for mollusks and crustaceans. It identifies limitations in current resources, including uneven species coverage and a lack of integrated tools for cross-omics analysis.

BMKGene categorizes core research fields benefiting from these technologies. These include genetic germplasm breeding, understanding immunity and adaptation to environmental stress, nutrition and flesh quality regulation, developmental biology, aquatic environmental toxicology, and evolutionary studies. The report also touches upon the technical barriers in sample pretreatment and bioinformatics analysis common in aquatic omics research.

The publication outlines the progression of omics research, with genomics and transcriptomics serving as foundational tools since the 2000s. Newer fields like proteomics, metabolomics, and single-cell/spatial transcriptomics are noted for their expanding applications and rapid growth, particularly after 2020.

Overall, the report emphasizes the need for targeted efforts to expand omics datasets and enhance analytical platforms to further advance the scientific understanding of aquatic animals and their environments.