The Microbiology and Biotechnology in Aquaculture (MBAqua) team studies the microbial communities associated with aquaculture animals and develops microbiology-based solutions to control aquaculture diseases. Microbial communities of mucosal surfaces (e.g., gut, gills, skin) play a critical role in shaping the health of aquatic animals. These communities act as a protective barrier, preventing colonization by harmful pathogens, and interact with the host immune system, modulating immune responses. The MBAqua team investigates mucosal microbiota dynamics across aquaculture species and farming conditions to improve aquaculture outcomes. The team is particularly interested in isolating and characterizing aquaculture pathogens and beneficial microbes. A deeper understanding of aquaculture pathogens’ biology, ecology, and interactions with aquatic hosts (and their commensals) is crucial to diagnosing and managing infectious diseases. Additionally, obtaining novel bacterial strains with biotechnological potential- such as probiotics or sources of enzymes or antimicrobial molecules- is the basis for developing innovative strategies to control aquaculture diseases. The MBAqua team is also working on new vaccination technologies, like bacterial spores or extracellular vesicles, to develop oral vaccines for aquaculture.
Cláudia R. Serra holds a PhD in Biology (ITQB-NOVA) and is currently Assistant Researcher at CIIMAR and Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, FCUP. She is a molecular microbiologist currently dedicated to the characterization of gastrointestinal microbial communities of economically important fish species. Her research interests include the application of microbial genetics and molecular biology tools in the functional analysis of bacterial genomes, identifying and characterizing genes of gastrointestinal isolates with biotechnological potential, and the development of microbial-based strategies to fight aquaculture problems, including novel probiotics and vaccines. Claudia has more than 20 years of practical lab experience in academic settings with strong connections to pharma and animal-feed industries, counting with 3 patents, 1 licensing-agreement, and several prizes in technology transfer activities.
Bárbara Guedes completed her BSc in Biology (2019) and MSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology (2022) at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. She is now a PhD candidate at FCUP, researching the potential of Bacillus spores as oral vaccines for aquaculture. Currently, Bárbara has three articles published in peer-reviewed international journals, two of which as the first author. Her main interests include molecular biology, aquaculture, immunology, and biotechnology.
Cláudia R. Serra holds a PhD in Biology (ITQB-NOVA) and is currently Assistant Researcher at CIIMAR and Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, FCUP. She is a molecular microbiologist currently dedicated to the characterization of gastrointestinal microbial communities of economically important fish species. Her research interests include the application of microbial genetics and molecular biology tools in the functional analysis of bacterial genomes, identifying and characterizing genes of gastrointestinal isolates with biotechnological potential, and the development of microbial-based strategies to fight aquaculture problems, including novel probiotics and vaccines. Claudia has more than 20 years of practical lab experience in academic settings with strong connections to pharma and animal-feed industries, counting with 3 patents, 1 licensing-agreement, and several prizes in technology transfer activities.
Gabriela Gonçalves has a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Porto and completed her master’s degree in Food Science and Technology, in 2020. In 2021 she started her PhD focusing on the development of oral vaccines for aquaculture using Bacillus spores as delivery vehicles. Her work contributed to 2 published papers in international scientific journals (Q1) and 5 oral communications and 1 poster at national and international conferences, which granted her 4 distinctions. Gabriela was part of the team “ProbioVaccine” which won the 928 Startup Challenge in 2021, an international business competition.
Miguel Castro holds a bachelor’s in Genetics and Biotechnology and a master’s in Food Engineering from the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. In 2021, he contributed to the molecular identification of Dictyocaulus capreolus in cervids, marking a first in Portugal and resulting in his first publication. From 2022 to 2023, he researched Food Safety in Restaurants, presenting significant findings at conferences and publishing two papers as the lead author. Currently, he works with CIIMAR’s NUTRIMU Group on the Horizon 2020 project “NEOGIANT,” exploring grape extract applications as antimicrobial alternatives in aquaculture.
Paolo Guttuso graduated in marine Biology in 2013 and completed his master in marine Ecology at the University of Palermo, Italy. After he gained experience in the field of aquaculture through international experience doing an internship at the University of Hong Kong, China and as research assistant at the Oceanic Observatory of Madeira, Portugal. Currently, he is carrying out his Phd exploring the nutritional effects of dietary Non-Starch Polysaccharides on microbiota modulation and appetite regulation in aquaculture fish.
Rafaela A. Santos obtained her PhD in Biology at CIIMAR-FCUP where she applied different microbiological, cellular, and molecular biology tools to characterize Bacillus spp. and their biotechnological applications as disease-preventive agents for the aquaculture sector. Currently, she is a Junior Researcher at Fish nutrition and welfare group dedicated to the development of novel strategies to fight diseases in aquaculture, including probiotics, oral vaccines and Bacillus bioactive compounds as disease-preventive molecules. Rafaela has more than 8 years of lab practical experience in academic settings with strong connections with the animal-feeds industries, counting 1 licensing agreement and 5 knowledge-transfer Business Ignition Programs.
Rodrigo Oliveira has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and is currently enrolled in the Master’s in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology (Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto). As part of his dissertation, he will be focusing on exploring Bacillus spp. antimicrobial compounds as a novel strategy to prevent fish bacterial infections.
Rangel, F., Monteiro, M., Santos, R.A., Ferreira-Martins, D., Cortinhas, R., Gasco, L., Gai, F., Pousão-Ferreira, P., Couto, A., Oliva-Teles, A., SERRA, C.R., Enes, P.
2024Aquaculture2. Santos, R.A., Cardoso, C., Pedrosa, N., Gonçalves, G., Matinha-Cardoso, J., Coutinho, F., Carvalho, A.P., Tamagnini, P., Oliva-Teles, A., Oliveira, P., SERRA, C.R
2023Microorganisms3. Gonçalves, G., Santos, R.A., Coutinho, F., Pedrosa, N., Curado, M., Machado, M., Costas, B., Oliva-Teles, A., Couto, A., SERRA C.R.
2022Frontiers in ImmunologyMatinha-Cardoso, J., Coutinho, F., Lima, S., Eufrásio, A., Paulo Carvalho, A.P., Oliva-Teles, A., Bessa, J., SERRA, CR., Oliveira P.
2022Microbial BiotechnologySantos, R.A., Mariz-Ponte, N., Martins, N., Magalhães, R., Jerusik, R., Saavedra, M.J., Peres, H., Oliva-Teles, A., SERRA, C.R.
2022Fish & Shellfish ImmunologyRangel, F, Enes, P, Gasco, L, Gai, F, Hausmann, B, Berry, D, Oliva-Teles, A, SERRA, C.R. Pereira, F.C.
2022Frontiers in MicrobiologySantos, R.A., Monteiro, M, Rangel, F., Jerusik, R., Saavedra, M.J., Carvalho, A. P., Oliva-Teles, A., SERRA, C.R.
2021Marine Drugs8. Santos, R.A., Oliva-Teles, A., Pousão-Ferreira, P., Jerusik R., Saavedra MJ, Enes P., SERRA CR.
2021Marine BiotechnologySERRA, C.R., Oliva-Teles, A., Enes, P., Tavares F.
2021Scientific Reports
