Sea sausages are a sought-after delicacy in much of Asia and have for centuries been used in traditional health food. The nutrient-rich species contains proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals and marine oils, among other things, making it interesting also for emerging seafood markets.
The red sea sausage (Parastichopus tremulus) is particularly exciting for Norwegian seafood nutrition and research. The species is found along the entire Norwegian coast and often shows up as bycatch in fisheries. This makes it applicable for a more targeted fishery, but so far knowledge of the species' biology, ecology and population structure has been limited.
Sea sausages also have great potential in aquaculture. They can be co-grown with fish, shellfish and macroalgae, and included in integrated aquaculture systems. To lay the foundations for sustainable development and good resource management, solid knowledge of the species is needed.
Therefore, Møre Research has recently sequenced the entire genome of the red sea sausage, published in the journal Genome.
Genome data provide scientists with entirely new insights into the genetic characteristics of the species. This is crucial in order to:
- understand how the species can be grown in captivity
- develop tools to study population structure along the coast
- contribute to responsible and long-term resource management
- explore new opportunities in bioprospecting, where genes can form the basis for new products in seafood, medicine and health food
The mapping of the genome is an important step for marine research -- and this is just the start. The study was conducted by Roger Meisal and Gyda Christophersen.
Sjøpølse-Popgen har som mål å fylle kunnskapshull knyttet til populasjonsstruktur og livshistorie hos den røde sjøpølsen ved hjelp av genetiske metoder.
