Jijuan Cao

Jellyfish collagen, a sustainable and biocompatible marine biomaterial, holds great potential in food and biomedical applications. This study explores the emulsification properties and therapeutic potential of pepsin-soluble collagen derived from salt-preserved Rhopilema esculentum (RPSC). Structural analysis confirmed that RPSC retained an intact triple-helix structure with a denaturation temperature of approximately 36.0 °C and formed elastic gels at concentrations ≥1.5% (w/w). As an emulsion stabilizer, RPSC (2%, w/w) effectively stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with oil fractions up to 50%, forming viscoelastic networks that exhibited excellent centrifugal stability but limited freeze–thaw tolerance. The gel–sol transition occurred near 38.0 °C, consistent with the thermal denaturation of RPSC. As a wound healing promoter, RPSC showed no cytotoxicity and dose-dependently enhanced 3T3 fibroblast viability, migration, and SOD activity. Notably, RPSC downregulated TGF-β1 expression and suppressed endogenous type I collagen synthesis, indicating a scar-mitigating profile distinct from conventional pro-fibrotic collagen dressings. These findings establish RPSC as a bifunctional marine biomaterial for both emulsified food systems and regenerative wound dressings in the biomedical field.

Fish skin gelatin (FG) has garnered considerable attention as a potential substitute for mammalian gelatin. In this study, Takifugu rubripes skin gelatin was chemically modified using transglutaminase (TG) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Subsequently, the rheological, structural, and physicochemical properties of FG modified with varying concentrations of TG and EGCG were systematically examined and compared. As the concentrations of TG and EGCG increased, more extensive interactions occurred in FG, leading to a significant enhancement of gelatin properties. Following modification, the molecular weight of FG proteins increased, and this was accompanied by enhanced surface hydrophobicity and gel strength. Rheological analysis further demonstrated that the viscosity of FG modified with TG and EGCG was higher than that of unmodified FG and was positively correlated with the treatment concentrations of TG and EGCG. Additionally, the results indicated that the effect of TG modification was more pronounced than that of EGCG modification. Overall, this study demonstrates that both TG and EGCG modifications can effectively overcome the inherent limitations of fish skin gelatin, with TG showing superior efficiency as a cross-linking agent. The enhanced thermal stability, gel strength, and rheological properties achieved through these interactions significantly expand the potential applications of fish gelatin in the food industry, making it a more viable alternative to mammalian gelatin.

Segregative phase separation technology demonstrates substantial potential for precise molecular fractionation in food and biomaterial applications. The investigation elucidates the causal relationship between viscosity variations and phase separation dynamics, which govern molecular fractionation in GA/HPMC composite systems. By conducting a comparative analysis of two GA subtypes (CGA and SGA) and three HPMC grades with controlled viscosity gradients, we utilized gel permeation chromatography-multi-angle laser light scattering (GPC-MALLS) coupled with rheological characterization to elucidate the critical relationship between continuous phase viscosity and fractionation efficiency. Notably, increasing HPMC viscosity significantly intensified phase separation, resulting in selective enrichment of arabinogalactan-protein complexes: from 6.3% to 8.5% in CGA/HPMC systems and from 27.3% to 36.5% in SGA/HPMC systems. Further mechanistic investigation revealed that elevated HPMC viscosity enhances thermodynamic incompatibility while slowing interfacial mass transfer, synergistically driving component redistribution. These findings establish a quantitative viscosity–fractionation relationship, offering theoretical insights for optimizing GA/HPMC systems in emulsion stabilization, microencapsulation, and functional biopolymer purification via viscosity-mediated phase engineering.

The development of an exceptionally sensitive diagnostic technique for early identification of aquaculture diseases, specifically Aeromonas hydrophila, is essential for efficient management of disease outbreaks at aquaculture locations. In this research, a swift and sensitive diagnostic assay employing Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of Aeromonas hydrophila was devised and compared to the conventional qPCR method documented by Rong Wang. Validation of the diagnostic assay was carried out using actual samples obtained from aquaculture fish. The findings revealed that based on the rapid detection of crude bacterial genomic DNA, the fluorescent LAMP assay possessed a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 0.559 ng/μL (0.315–1.693, 95% CI), while the LOD for qPCR stood at 4.301 ng/μL (2.084–8.876, 95% CI). Both techniques demonstrated outstanding specificity, exhibiting no cross-reactivity with bacteria from the same or closely related genera. A total of 74 fish samples suspected to be infected with the fish disease were gathered, with 26 and 23 samples testing positive for Aeromonas hydrophila via LAMP and qPCR, respectively. The concordance analysis for LAMP and qPCR methods generated a Kappa value of 0.909 (0.778–1.000, 95% CI), signifying a high degree of diagnostic consensus. This study highlights that the LAMP assay eliminates the thermal cycle temperature change process of qPCR, uses lysate to crudely extract bacterial genomic DNA, and can complete the detection within 40 min, rendering it a practical and efficient alternative for monitoring disease outbreaks at aquaculture sites.

Due to the long-term and irrational use of antibiotics for the prevention and control of bacterial diseases in aquaculture, antibiotic resistance genes have become a new source of pollution in aquatic products. Factors such as the spread of drug-resistant strains and the horizontal transfer of drug-resistant genes have led to multi-drug resistance in fish-infecting bacteria, which seriously affects the quality and safety of aquatic products. In this study, 50 samples of horse mackerel and puffer fish sold in Dalian aquatic products market and seafood supermarket were collected, and the phenotypic characteristics of the bacteria carried by the fish for drugs such as sulfonamides, amide alcohols, quinolones, aminoglycosides and tetracyclines were tested and analyzed, and the resistance genes carried by fish samples were detected by SYBG qPCR. Our statistical analyses demonstrated that the drug resistance phenotypes and genotypes of bacteria carried by mariculture horse mackerel and puffer fish in the Dalian area of China were complex, and the multi-drug resistance rate reached 80%. Among the examined antibiotics, the resistance rates to cotrimoxazole, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, levofloxacin, kanamycin, and florfenicol exceeded 50%, whereas the resistance rates to gentamicin and tobramycin were 26 and 16%, respectively. The detection rate of the drug resistance genes tetA, sul1, sul2, qnrA, qnrS, and floR exceeded 70% and all samples carried more than three drug resistance genes. The correlation analysis of drug resistance genes and drug resistance phenotypes showed that the detection of the drug resistance genes sul1, sul2, floR, and qnrD was correlated with the detection of drug resistance phenotypes (p < 0.01). However, the correlation between the resistance genes cmlA, cfr, tetA, qnrA, qnrS, and aac(6′)-Ib-cr and the corresponding resistance phenotype was not significant (p > 0.05). In general, our findings indicated that the multi-drug resistance of bacteria carried by marine horse mackerel and puffer fish in the Dalian area was serious. From the perspective of drug resistance rate and drug resistance gene detection rate, the aminoglycosides gentamicin and tobramycin are still considered effective in controlling bacterial infection in marine fish in the study area. Collectively, our findings provide a scientific basis for the management of drug use in mariculture, which can prevent the transmission of drug resistance through the food chain and minimize the associated human health risks.