The aquafeed sector is becoming increasingly aware and adoptive of microbial single-cell ingredients as volumes are scaled up, their prices become more competitive, and marine products are increasingly substituted. One of such microbial ingredients now at commercial production scale is NovaqProTM, a natural microbial biomass composed principally of bacteria produced in ponds under a patented process bio-converting agrochemical inputs into a functional ingredient for shrimp feed. When strategically included in feeds at low inclusion, this microbial biomass has been demonstrated to enhance growth, feed intake, disease resilience and feed efficiency in numerous studies on tiger prawns and white-leg shrimp. Unlike most feed additives currently available, the microbial biomass is acting as a rich natural source of bioactive molecules and is not aimed at directly replacing macronutrient sources.
Over the last 6 years, Ridley Corp., the Australian licensee commercialising NovacqProTM, and CSIRO have engaged in a research alliance to delve deeper into this novel commercial product’s nutritional characteristics and mode of action in prawn (Fig 1). This paper summarises the research conducted to date on NovaqProTM and the various mechanisms by which its incorporation in a wide range of experimental and commercial formulations is benefiting prawn nutrition.