Use of Duckweed (Lemna L.) in Sustainable Livestock Production and Aquaculture – A Review

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the possibility of using duckweed in sustainable livestock production and aquaculture. Duckweed is a small plant which grows in water and is exploited in biotechnology, dietetics, phytotherapy, and ecotoxicology. It is also used for biological waste-water treatment, and for biogas and ethanol production. This study provides the characteristics of duckweed and presents results indicating its applicability in livestock feeding. Duckweed is a rich source of proteins and amino acids, and contains many macro- and micronutrients as well as vitamins and carotenoids. Unfortunately, it accumulates considerable amounts of toxic metals and compounds from the aquatic environment, which may limit its use as a feed ingredient. Fresh or dried duckweed is willingly consumed by animals (poultry – laying hens, broiler chickens, ducks; cows, sheep, goats, swine, fish) and is a valuable protein source to them. It has been scientifically demonstrated that its use in moderate amounts or as a partial replacement of other protein feed materials, including soybean meal, has a beneficial effect on the productivity, fattening, and slaughter performance of livestock and poultry as well as on the quality of their meat and eggs. Research addressing duckweed use as a feed ingredient should focus on developing various growth media technologies, including the use of slurry digestate, to obtain high biomass yields. Another research direction should be to determine risks in the production chain (collection, processing), which limit its use in monogastric and ruminant diets.

Chromosome-scale genome assembly for the duckweed Spirodela intermedia, integrating cytogenetic maps, PacBio and Oxford Nanopore libraries

“…Now, at least two more rearrangements (in addition to the previously postulated one inversion and eight translocations) have to be assumed if the S. polyrhiza karyotype is more similar to that of the ancestor. Alternatively, eight (instead of six) translocations (involving ChrSi03, 04, 06, 07, 08, 11,12,16,18), and one fission (ChrSi09) 29 were required if the S. intermedia karyotype is the more ancestral one. Additionally, we found a positional change of the smaller 5S rDNA locus to ChrSi14 (instead of ChrSi07 which harbors sequences adjacent to the minor 5S rDNA locus on ChrSp06).…”

Duckweed (Lemnaceae): Its Molecular Taxonomy

“…Lemnaceae (commonly known as water lens or duckweed) is a family of monocotyledonous water plants (Landolt, 1986;Landolt and Kandeler, 1987;Sree et al, 2016) characterized by the fastest growth rates among flowering plants (Sree et al, 2015b;Ziegler et al, 2015). As a consequence, the rate of biomass production is high, which provides the basis for different practical applications of duckweeds in the areas of food and feed sustainability (Landolt and Kandeler, 1987;Appenroth et al, 2017Appenroth et al, , 2018Sonta et al, 2019) and biotechnology (Zhao et al, 2015;Chen et al, 2018;Kaur et al, 2018;Ren et al, 2018).…”

Alternative Protein Sources vs. GM Soybean Meal as Feedstuff for Pigs—Meat Quality and Health-Promoting Indicators

“…To decrease SBM GM content in feedstuffs, alternative sources of protein have been extensively searched for in recent years. Non-processed and/or processed legume seeds, as well as insect proteins, potato proteins, or duckweed protein, have been used to this end [ 3 , 4 ]. Today, however, it seems that the greatest potential is offered by legume seeds [ 5 ].…”