What species do you work with?

We've worked with salmon, trout, shrimp, and abalone. Our approach is readily translatable to other aquaculture species — if you're working with a species we haven't analysed yet, we're happy to discuss feasibility.

What tissue types do you analyse?

Liver, gill, kidney, intestine, muscle, blood/plasma, and mucus — depending on the research question. We'll recommend the best approach during study design.

How many samples do I need?

We recommend a minimum of 3–5 biological replicates per treatment group. More complex studies or high-variability field conditions may need more. We advise on this during study design.

How does proteomics compare to targeted assays like ELISA?

Targeted assays measure a small number of pre-selected proteins — you need to know what you're looking for. Proteomics is unbiased and discovery-driven: it quantifies thousands of proteins simultaneously, revealing responses you wouldn't have known to look for. The two are complementary.

Can proteomics diagnose a specific disease?

Proteomics is an analytical and discovery tool, not a point-of-care diagnostic. It reveals molecular response patterns associated with disease states, which can inform diagnosis, identify biomarkers, and deepen understanding of disease mechanisms.

Do samples need to be shipped frozen?

No. Our sample preparation method does not require cold chain shipping. We provide stabilisation protocols that allow samples to be shipped at ambient temperature, simplifying international logistics.

Proteomics Applications for Aquaculture

Fish Health & Welfare

The biological story behind the symptoms, revealed at the protein level. Disease outbreaks, unexplained mortality, welfare concerns; these are complex biological problems. Proteomics reveals the full molecular response, giving you the depth to understand not just what is happening, but why.

Applications

Vaccine efficacy assessment — Evaluate immune pathway activation and response strength beyond survival rates and antibody titres

Disease biomarker discovery — Identify protein signatures for earlier detection and more targeted interventions

Welfare impact assessment — Measure molecular stress responses that are not visible through behaviour or observation

Treatment response profiling — Compare treated vs untreated groups to quantify biological impact

For: Aquaculture health companies, vaccine and pharmaceutical developers, fish health veterinarians, research institutions.

Nutrition & Feed

Molecular proof your ingredients work. Novel ingredients (insect meal, single-cell proteins, algae, fermentation-derived products) are entering the market at pace. Proteomics quantifies how fish biology actually responds to your feed at the protein level. Our proteomics platform enables you to assess the health and metabolism of your farmed fish at the molecular level — providing the evidence needed to optimize nutrition strategies and validate ingredient performance.

Applications

Novel ingredient validation — Demonstrate equivalent or superior biological outcomes vs conventional formulations

Ingredient comparison studies — Reveal differences in immune, metabolic, and stress responses between formulations

Functional feed development — Provide biological evidence showing which molecular pathways your ingredient activates

Regulatory evidence generation — Strengthen submissions with mechanism-of-action data

For: Aquafeed companies, ingredient suppliers, functional feed developers, research institutions.

Farming Practices & Environment

Turn operational decisions into molecular evidence. Stocking density, water quality, handling protocols, transport, seasonal variation; every operational decision affects fish biology. Proteomics tells you what is changing at the biological level before it becomes a visible problem.

Applications

Stress response profiling — Quantify which stress pathways are activated by specific farming conditions

Environmental impact assessment — Measure how temperature, oxygen, and water quality affect fish at the protein level

Protocol optimisation — Compare farming protocols head-to-head with molecular evidence

Smolt quality and transfer readiness — Assess smoltification status through multi-protein biomarker signatures

For: Salmon and trout farming operations, aquaculture veterinarians, welfare certification bodies, research institutions.

What Every MariHealth Project Includes

Study design — We help define the right approach for your specific question, including sample numbers, tissue types, and experimental controls.

Sample collection — Tailored collection and stabilisation protocols for your species, tissue type, and logistics. No cold chain shipping required.

Proteomics analysis — 3,000+ proteins quantified per sample using diaPASEF on the Bruker timsTOF platform, with rigorous quality control throughout.

Interpretation — Results interpreted by scientists who understand aquaculture, not just proteomics. We contextualise what the data means for your work.

Full report and data — Pathway analysis, biological interpretation, statistical outputs, and processed data files. Your deliverables, your IP.

Results walkthrough — We walk you through the findings and what they mean for your research or product development goals.

What we do

Proteomics-powered insights for aquaculture - across fish health, nutrition, and farming practices

THE CHALLENGE

The tools you have tell part of the story

Whether you're developing a vaccine, validating a novel feed ingredient, or evaluating a new farming protocol — you need to understand what's happening inside the fish.

Traditional tools give you part of the answer. Histology shows tissue damage, but not the mechanism. PCR confirms a pathogen, but not the immune response. Growth data tells you the outcome, but not the biology driving it.

Proteomics reveals the full molecular picture — quantifying thousands of proteins simultaneously to show you not just what is happening, but why.

END-TO-END DELIVERABLES

From sample to insight

FAQ

We've worked with salmon, trout, shrimp, and abalone. Our approach is readily translatable to other aquaculture species - if you're working with a species we haven't analysed yet, we're happy to discuss feasibility.
Liver, gill, kidney, intestine, muscle, blood/plasma, and mucus -depending on the research question. We'll recommend the best approach during study design.
We recommend a minimum of 25 biological replicates per treatment group. More complex studies or high-variability field conditions may need more, while more controlled studies can work with less. We advise on this during study design.

Targeted assays measure a small number of pre-selected molecules/proteins - you need to know what you're looking for. Shotgun proteomics is unbiased and discovery-driven: it quantifies thousands of proteins simultaneously, revealing responses you wouldn't have known to look for. The two are complementary.
Proteomics is an analytical and discovery tool, not a point-of-care diagnostic. It reveals molecular response patterns associated with disease states, which can inform diagnosis, identify biomarkers, and deepen understanding of disease mechanisms for more targeted treatments.
No. Our sample preparation method does not require cold chain shipping. We provide stabilisation protocols that allow samples to be shipped at ambient temperature, simplifying international logistics.

Have a question proteomics could answer?

Whether it's fish health, feed development, or farming operations — we'd love to hear about your challenge. Book a discovery call or send us a message.

Get in touch →

What we do

THE CHALLENGE

The tools you have tell part of the story

END-TO-END DELIVERABLES

From sample to insight

FAQ

Have a question proteomics could answer?

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