Mariana Rodriques da Silva
Email: mariana.silva.rodrigues@fau.de
Affiliation: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Germany.
PRESENTATION
The choice of investigating natural products with a focus on green chemistry and metabolite investigation was very natural to me at the beginning of my chemistry degree. I was fascinated by the systematic study of chemical fingerprints in cellular processes and the interconnection of biological systems and genetic, pathological, and/or environmental stimuli. In addition, following the principles of green chemistry, I have noticed that the challenge is to develop truly sustainable production systems. To achieve this goal for aquaculture systems it is necessary to develop new technologies to improve water quality, reduce nutrients and control the abundance of bacteria. From then on, I realized that I would like to expand my knowledge and skills in optimizing sustainable production systems through analytical chemistry.
I have a bachelor's degree in industrial chemistry from the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), where I gained experience in the chemistry of natural products, focusing on classical techniques of chromatography and identification of compounds. Then, I did a Masters in Biotechnology at the São Paulo State University, where I investigated various by-products of the coffee chain by an untargeted metabolomics approach using UHPLC, GC-MS, and HPTLC-UV analyses. During my master, I also did an internship at the University of Auckland for six months on research applying natural deep eutectic solvents for extraction of biological matrix compounds. Overall, my technical skills and competences include metabolomics, analytical chemistry and bioorganic chemistry.
Project description
ESR 6: Investigation and the development of managing strategies regarding off-flavours in fish and water of RAS
According to the latest FAO report on The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020 approximately 82.1 million tons of aquatic animals are produced per year. With the increase in demand, the production of fish in closed-containment systems, such as recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS), has been increasingly applied in recent years due to advantages in relation to the high volume of production with low water consumption and control of environmental parameters. Although RAS farms allow the production of high-quality fish, the occurrence of off-flavours has become a major concern for RAS. Presence of off-flavors in the fish, such as "fatty" and "earthy", are deficits that decrease sensory quality and can cause significant financial losses for fish producers.
The objective of this PhD project is to identify off-flavour hotspots in freshwater RAS systems, develop strategies to prevent the formation of off-flavour hotspots and assess consumer acceptance of RAS fish. Investigations will be conducted in Sturgeon, where water samples from different locations of the freshwater RAS farm will be investigated through analytical methods such as gas chromatography-olfactory/mass spectrometry for sensory-analytical characterization and determination of factors that influence the formation of off-flavor in freshwater RAS water, focusing on microbes and biofilters. In addition, the organoleptic properties of fish and its acceptance will be analyzed through sensory evaluation