CULTURE OF MARINE BACTERIA IN WHEY

Need or problem solved and how:  Turning milk whey, a byproduct of the dairy industry that is highly polluting when spilled to good use, due to its high organic matter contents and its high biological oxygen demand.  Reducing the cost of dairy industry spill decontamination, as the presence of milk whey in spills leads to a costly decontamination process.  Microorganisms used in this invention naturally produces a fatty acid that is essential in the diet of most of the marine species cultured in aquaculture. These microorganisms could be useful for enriching the fatty acids essential for the nematode C. elegans, so that the latter can serve as live food for fish larvae and be used for the manufacture of fattening food. Innovative issues/Competitive advantages:  Researchers in the field have also patented a method for enriching the nematode C. elegans for its utilisation in aquaculture and aquariums through the use of microorganisms.  The fact is that, currently, the culture of seawater fish larvae is based on the use of rotifers and artemia; however C. elegans has a series of exceptional advantages making it possible to design food customised to the needs of larval feeding in aquaculture.  It is significant that it is now possible to breed fish larvae in fresh water (zebra fish), as well as those of gilthead (Sparus aurata) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), by feeding them exclusively with these nematodes.