Prof. Lior Guttman
Blue biotechnologies and Sustainable mariculture Department
Research Areas: Marine Microbiology, Marine Biotechnology, Sustainable Mariculture, Host-Microbe Interactions, Water quality and treatment, Fish, Seaweeds, Sea Urchins
Laboratory: Marine Microbiology and Biotechnology in Aquaculture
Phone: 972-54-4642129
Email: lguttman@univ.haifa.ac.il
Lior Guttman earned his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He joined the University of Haifa with 20 years of experience in aquaculture research, including 12 years as a principal investigator at the National Center for Mariculture of the Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research in Eilat.
The Guttman lab primarily focuses on Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology in Aquaculture, highlighting microbes’ critical roles in various areas like water quality, feed digestion, and health. The team investigates the factors influencing microbial community dynamics and their effects on the performance, health, and resilience of the cultured macroorganisms and the culture environment. Their research encompasses various aquaculture systems, including Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) and Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), as well as diverse species such as fish, seaweeds, and sea urchins.
By integrating advanced metagenomics and bioinformatics with traditional microbiology, chemistry, and molecular biology, the lab aims to ensure aquaculture longevity through sustainable practices, as well as to develop innovative biotechnological solutions using microbes, their genes, enzymes, and bioactive compounds.
Lior is married and has five children. He enjoys spending quality time with his family, swimming, and exploring the natural world.
- Microbial community dynamics in the aquaculture environment and cultured organisms and their relationships with culture and organism performances, health, and resilience.
- Host-microbe interactions in marine organisms for biotechnological applications (e.g., probiotics)
- Innovative biofilters (bacterial, algal, and plant-based) for improving aquaculture sustainability.
- Seaweed’s ecosystem services and biorefinery.
- Aquaculture-Environment interactions for reducing footprint
- 1997-2000 B.Sc. Tel Aviv University, Department of Life Sciences .
- 2002-2005 M.Sc. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Department of Animal Sciences and Veterinary
- 2005-2012 Ph.D. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Department of Animal Sciences and Veterinary
- 2013 Post-doctorate fellow, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Publications:
Tarnecki, A.M., Brennan, N.P., Main, K.L., and Guttman, L. 2024. Variability in prokaryotic and eukaryotic periphyton communities in marine recirculating integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems. Aquaculture.
Ben-Natan, M., Masasa, M., Shashar, N. and Guttman, L.. 2024. Antibiotic Resistance in Vibrio Bacteria Associated with Red Spotting Disease in Sea Urchin Tripneustes gratilla (Echinodermata). Microorganisms 12, 2460.
Hofmann L.C., Strauss, S., Shpigel, M., Guttman, L., Bolton, J., Rebourse, C., Erdologan, T. et al. (2024). Ulva in the sustainability and circular economy era: tomorrow’s “wheat of the sea” in foods, feeds, nutrition, and biomaterials: a review. Critical reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 1-36.
Nguyen, D., OvadiaC, O. and GuttmanPI, L. 2023. Temporal force governs the microbial assembly associated with Ulva fasciata (Chlorophyta) from an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system. Frontiers in Microbiology 14. p.1223204.
Tarnecki, A. and Guttman, L. (2023). Microbial diversity as a prerequisite for resilience and resistance in sustainable aquaculture. Frontiers in Marine Sciences. 10, 1227795.
Nguyen, D., #Masasa, M., Ovadia, O., and *Guttman, L. (2023). Ecological insights into the resilience of marine plastisphere throughout a storm disturbance. Science of the Total Environment p.159775.
Hurwitz, A., Hurwitz, I., Harpaz, S., Zilberberg, N. and Guttman, L. (2023). Sustainable aquafeed with marine periphyton to reduce production costs of grey mullet, Mugil cephalus. Sustainability, 15.
Masasa, M., Kushmaro, A., Nguyen, D., Chernova, H., Shashar, N. and Guttman, L. (2023). Spatial succession underlies microbial contribution to food digestion in the gut of an algivorous sea urchin. Microbiology Spectrum 11(3), e00514-23.
Bell, A.N., Guttman, L., Main, K.L., Nystrom, M., Brennan, N.P. and Ergas, S.J. (2023). Hydrodynamics of an integrated fish and periphyton recirculating aquaculture system. Algal Research p.103028.
Nguyen, D., Masasa, M., Ovadia, O. and Guttman, L. (2023). Ecological insights into the resilience of marine plastisphere throughout a storm disturbance. Science of the Total Environment 159775.
Guttman, L. 2022. A bacterial-based process for decomposition of Ulva cell-wall polysaccharides in biorefinery. In: Proceedings of Tomorrow’s wheat of the Sea: a model for innovative mariculture. September, 2022.
Masasa, M., Kushmaro, A., Chernova, H., Shashar, N., Guttman, L. (2022).
Carbohydrate-active enzymes of a novel halotolerant Alkalihalobacillus sp. for
hydrolysis of starch and other algal polysaccharides. Microbiology Spectrum 10(4), pp.e01078-22
Masasa, M., Kushmaro, A., Kramarsky-Winter, E., Shpigel, M., Barkan, R.,
Golberg, A., Kribus, A., Shashar, N. and Guttman, L. (2021). Mono-specific algal
diets shape microbial networking in the gut of the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla
elatensis. Animal Microbiome 3(1), 1-21.
Savonitto, G., Barkan, R., Harpaz, S., Neori, A., Chernova, H., Terlizzi, A. and
Guttman, L. (2021). Fishmeal replacement by periphyton reduces the fish in fish
out ratio and alimentation cost in gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata. Scientific
Reports 11(1), 1-10.
Shahar, B., Guttman, L. (2021). Integrated biofilters with Ulva and periphyton to
improve nitrogen removal from mariculture effluent. Aquaculture. 532, 736011.
Nguyen, D.T., Guttman, L. (2020). Microbial succession in marine periphyton:
one step closer to understand health aspect of cost effective biofilter in marine
IMTA system. Proceedings of The 2nd Webinar on Aquaculture and Fisheries.
November, 09-10.
Shahar, B., Guttman, L. (2020). An integrated, two-step biofiltration system with
Ulva fasciata for sequenced removal of ammonia and nitrate in mariculture
effluents. Algal Research 52, 102120.
Piwosz, K., Vrdoljak, A., Frenken, T., González-Olalla, J.M., Šantić, D., McKay,
R.M., Spilling, K., Guttman, L., Znachor, P., Mujakić, I. and Fecskeová, L.K.
(2020). Light and Primary Production Shape Bacterial Activity and Community
Composition of Aerobic Anoxygenic Phototrophic Bacteria in a Microcosm
Experiment. mSphere, 5(4).
Neori, A., Bronfman, Y., van Rijn, J., Guttman, L., Krupnik, N., Shpigel, M.,
Samocha, T.M., Davis, D.A., Qiu, X., Abelin, P. and Israel, A. (2020). The
suitability of Ulva fasciata, Ulva compressa and Hypnea musciformis for
production in an outdoor spray cultivation system, with respect to biomass yield
and protein content. Journal of Applied Phycology 32, 3183-3197.
Shahar, B., Shpigel, M., Barkan, R., Masasa, M., Neori, A., Chernova, H.,
Salomon, E., Kiflawi, M. and Guttman, L. (2020). Changes in metabolism,
growth and nutrient uptake of Ulva fasciata (Chlorophyta) in response to nitrogen
source. Algal Research 46, 101781.
Guttman, L. (2019). Periphyton for biofiltration and fish feeding in an integrated
multi-trophic aquaculture system: A case study in the Gulf of Aqaba. Journal of Environmental and Soil Sciences 3, 413-417.
Greiserman, S., Epstein, M., Chemodanov, A., Prabhu, M., Guttman, L.,
Jinjikhashvily, G., Kribus, A. and Golberg, A. (2019). Co-production of
monosaccharides and hydrochar from green macroalgae Ulva (Chlorophyta) sp.
with subcritical hydrolysis and carbonization. BioEnergy Research 12, 1090-1103.
Neori, A., Guttman, L., Israel, A. and Shpigel, M. (2019). Israeli-Developed
Models of Marine Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). Journal of Coastal Research
86, 11-20
Guttman, L., Neori, A., Boxman, S.E., Barkan, R., Shahar, B., Tarnecki, A.M.,
Brennan, N.P., Main, K.L. and Shpigel, M. (2019). An integrated Ulvaperiphyton biofilter for mariculture effluents: multiple nitrogen removal kinetics. Algal Research 42, 101576.
Shpigel, M., Guttman, L., Ben-Ezra, D., Yu, H. and Chen, S. (2019). Is Ulva sp.
able to be an efficient biofilter for mariculture effluents?. Journal of Applied Phycology
31, 2449–2459.
Guttman, L., Boxman, S.E., Barkan, R., Neori, A. and Shpigel, M. (2018).
Combinations of Ulva and periphyton as biofilters for both ammonia and nitrate
in mariculture fishpond effluents. Algal Research 34, 235-243.
Shpigel, M., Shauli, L., Odintsov, V., Ben-Ezra, D., Neori, A. and Guttman, L.
(2018). The sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, in an Integrated Multi-Trophic
Aquaculture (IMTA) system with fish (Sparus aurata) and seaweed (Ulva
lactuca): Nitrogen partitioning and proportional configurations. Aquaculture,
490, 260-269.
Milstein, A., Levy, A., Neori, A., Harpaz, S., Shpigel, M. and Guttman, L.
(2018). Water quality, ecological processes and management procedures in a
periphyton biofiltration system in mariculture: a statistical analysis. Aquaculture
Research 49(4), 1491-1503.
Qiu, X., Neori, A., Kim, J.K., Yarish, C., Shpigel, M., Guttman, L., Ezra, D.B.,
Odintsov, V. and Davis, D.A. (2017). Evaluation of green seaweed Ulva sp. as a
replacement of fish meal in plant-based practical diets for Pacific white shrimp,
Litopenaeus vannamei. Journal of Applied Phycology 30(2), 1305-1316.
Qiu, X., Neori, A., Kim, J.K., Yarish, C., Shpigel, M., Guttman, L., Ezra, D.B.,
Odintsov, V. and Davis, D.A. (2017). Green seaweed Ulva sp. as an alternative
ingredient in plant-based practical diets for Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus
vannamei. Journal of Applied Phycology 30(2), 1317-1333.
Neori, A., Guttman, L. (2017). Thoughts on algae cultivation toward an
expansion of aquaculture to the scale of agriculture. In: Butu, A., Lakatos, A.,
Bulsura, P. (Eds.), Proceedings of 7th International Conference on Innovation in
Chemical, Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Sciences (ICABES-2017),
London (UK) December 4-6.
Shpigel, M., Guttman, L., Shauli, L., Odintsov, V., Harpaz, S. and Ben-Ezra, D.
(2017). Ulva lactuca from an Integrated Multi-Tropic Aquaculture (IMTA)
biofilter system as a protein supplement in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)
diet. Aquaculture, 481, 112-118.
Neori A., Shpigel, M., Guttman, L. and Israel, A. (2017). The development of
polyculture and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) in Israel: A review.
The Israeli Journal of Aquaculture–Bamidgeh, 69, 19 pp.
Levy, A., Milstein, A., Neori, A., Harpaz, S., Shpigel, M. and Guttman, L.
(2017). Marine periphyton biofilters in mariculture effluents: Nutrient uptake and
biomass development. Aquaculture, 473, 513-520.
Guttman, L., van Rijn, J. (2012). Isolation of bacteria capable of growth with 2-
methylisoborneol and geosmin as the sole carbon and energy sources. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 78(2):363-370.
Guttman, L., van Rijn, J. (2009). 2-Methylisoborneol and geosmin uptake by
organic sludge derived from a recirculating aquaculture system. Water Research
43:474-480.
Guttman, L., van Rijn, J. (2008). Identification of conditions underlying
production of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in a recirculating system.
Aquaculture 279:85-91.
Guttman, L., van Rijn, J. (2008). Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol elimination in
a recirculating aquaculture system: biological and chemical processes.
Proceeding of the 8th IWA Symp. on Off-flavours in the Aquatic Environment,
Daejeon, Korea, pp. 232-244.
van Rijn, J., Guttman, L., Ezer, T., Nevo, E. and Dafni, Z. (2005). Use of ozone
in recirculating fish culture systems. Fisheries and Aquaculture 36(2): 833- 847.
