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The EPICOOL project, coordinated by Delphine Lallias, Junior Scientist at INRAE (GABI) is supported by the European Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Fund as part of the "Fishing and aquaculture innovation".

The general objective of the EpiCOOL project is to study the consequences of storing eyed eggs from rainbow trout, the major French aquaculture species, in a cold environment (3°C). Indeed, recent studies have shown that early exposition to environmental stimuli (such as hypoxia or temperature) could have an impact on the physiology of fish at a more or less long-term. Several mechanisms may underly this programmation, such as the modification of gene expression patterns and epigenetic regulations like DNA methylation. In this project, we will test the effect of cold on several traits of interest for aquaculture species, such as the zootechnical performances (survival, growth and malformations), intermediary metabolism, muscle development and quality as well as resistance to ulterieur stress. We will also try to understand how early exposition to cold can impact the physiology of fish later on, by analysing gene expression pattern and DNA methylation. The final objective is to use this early programming to improve the performances of the animals.