Metabolomics in salmonid aquaculture research: Applications and future perspectives

Salmonids are the third major farmed finfish species after carps and tilapines, and thus contribute to global food fish production. However, as the aquaculture industry continues to grow, several challenges have emerged. Left unchecked, current problems will hinder aquaculture development. Metabolomics is one of the powerful biotechnological tools that will contribute to solving some of the pressing problems. This review aims to summarise findings and identify gaps from studies that used metabolomics in farmed salmon research. We extracted methodological information for comparison, highlighted analytical platform usages and identified most studied salmonids and sample types. We reviewed key articles to highlight the latest research themes. From the identified research gaps, future perspectives regarding potential use of metabolomics to solve issues in ecotoxicology, thermotolerance, nutrition, post-harvest quality, health and disease, and husbandry practices are provided. The survey also highlighted improvements in execution of metabolomics protocols in aquaculture.