Comparative metabolomics reveals biosignatures in wild vs. farmed Hypophthalmichthys nobilis: A UHPLC-MS/MS-based...

Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) is an important economic fish widely distributed in the Yangtze River Basin. To enhance efforts against illegal fishing and food fraud, it is crucial to identify biomarkers that distinguish between wild and farmed bighead carp in the Yangtze River Basin. Therefore, this study employed an UHPLC-MS/MS-based metabolomic approach to differentiate wild from farmed bighead carp from the Yangtze River Basin. PCA and OPLS-DA revealed distinct differences between wild and farmed bighead carp. A metabolic fingerprint map was generated to highlight these distinctions, from these 20 high-confidence biomarkers (with an AUC > 0.9) were identified. In addition, 8 potential geographic traceability biomarkers and 9 potential ecological model-specific markers were tentatively identified. RDA revealed associations between metabolic markers and aquatic environments, such as the positive correlation between succinic acid and Mg. This research holds significant implications for ecological conservation, market regulation, and the sustainable advancement of aquaculture.