The brine shrimp Artemia, a crustacean adapted to the extreme conditions of hypersaline environments, comprises nine regionally distributed sexual species scattered (island-like) over heterogeneous environments and asexual (parthenogenetic) lineages with different ploidies. Such sexual and asexual interaction within the genus raises questions regarding the origin and time of divergence of both sexual species and asexual lineages, including the persistence of the latter over time, a problem not yet clarified using single mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Based on the complete mitochondrial genome of all species and parthenogenetic lineages, this article first describes the mitogenomic characteristics (nucleotide compositions, genome mapping, codon usage, and tRNA secondary structure) of sexual species and asexual types and, secondly, it provides a comprehensive updated phylogenetic analysis. Molecular dating and geographical evidence suggest that the ancestral Artemia taxon originated in ca. 33.97 Mya during the Paleogene Period. The mitogenomic comparisons suggest that the common ancestor of diploid and triploid parthenogenetic lineages (ca. 0.07 Mya) originated from a historical ancestor (ca. 0.61 Mya) in the Late Pleistocene. Additionally, the common ancestor of tetraploid and pentaploid parthenogenetic lineages (ca. 0.05 Mya) diverged from a historical maternal ancestor with A. sinica (ca. 0.96 Mya) in the early Pleistocene. The parthenogenetic lineages do not share a direct ancestor with any sexual species. The Asian clade ancestor diverged more recently (ca. 14.27 Mya, Middle Miocene). The mitogenomic characteristics, maternal phylogenetic tree, and especially divergence time prove that A. monica and A. franciscana are two biological species.
A summary of the presentation "Reduction in Artemia nauplii fed to shrimp larvae: Does this result in a reduction of larvae cost at the expense of an increase in farm cost" is available from the link below. The presentation was given by Robins McIntosh at Larvi 2024 (9-12 September) in Ostend, Belgium. The presentation is authored by Robins McIntoshy, Wisurut Jungprung and Sudharma Choosuk.
Although the drying up of the Aral Sea and the salinization of a lot of agricultural lands in different regions in Uzbekistan (UZB) and Kazakhstan (KAZ) have major negative consequences, there is a high potential to develop a new profitable industry and create new job opportunities in this region: the environmental-friendly and sustainable pond farming of brine shrimp Artemia, a wellknown source of food in the farming of fish and crustacean species around the world. This workshop aims to show the outcomes of the implemented Artemia pilot project, present guidelines and recommendations important for such a new business sector, lessons learned and discuss prospects of Artemia production to further develop aquaculture sector in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The first International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium (IAAC) conference was a free half day event held in Ostend, Belgium on 9 September, as a prelude to Larvi 2024. The conference presentations provided an overview of many of the issues surrounding Artemia, including management of salt lakes habitats that still provide the bulk of global Artemia supplies, Artemia biodiversity, hatching optimisation, and aquaculture of Artemia biomass in tanks and ponds. Video recordings of the presentations are available within.
Presentation by Robins McIntosh, Wisurut Jungprung and Sudharma Choosuk at the First International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium Conference, 9 September 2024, Ostend, Belgium.
