Dr. Balázs Kovács - MATE Research
Overview
Dr. Balázs Kovács serves as the Deputy Head of the Department of Molecular Ecology and leads the Fish Molecular Genetics Research Group. His research focuses on fish molecular genetics and biology, with a particular emphasis on investigating the genetic and genomic background of natural (protected, endangered, or invasive) and cultured fish stocks and populations. He has experiences in marker development, breeding and selection programs, genomic or gene expression analysis of fish species, transgenic model animal development, or development of toxicological test systems. His current objective is to study the genomics of fish sex determination and apply this knowledge to enhance the sustainable production of economically important fish species.
Research keywords:
Publications
Fish sex determination and development
Kovács, B., Egedi, S., Bártfai, R. et al. Male-specific DNA markers from African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Genetica 110, 267–276 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012739318941
Balogh, R. E., Csorbai, B., Guti, C., Keszte, S., Urbányi, B., Orbán, L., & Kovács, B. (2023). Validation of a male-specific DNA marker confirms XX/XY-type sex determination in several Hungarian strains of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Theriogenology, 205, 106-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.04.017
Fish toxicology
Bakos, K., Kovács, R., Staszny, Á., Sipos, D. K., Urbányi, B., Müller, F., ... & Kovács, B. (2013). Developmental toxicity and estrogenic potency of zearalenone in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Aquatic toxicology, 136, 13-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2013.03.004
Population genetics and hybridisation
Keszte, S., Ferincz, A., Tóth-Ihász, K., Balogh, R. E., Staszny, Á., Hegyi, Á., ... & Kovács, B. (2021). Mitochondrial sequence diversity reveals the hybrid origin of invasive gibel carp (Carassius gibelio) populations in Hungary. PeerJ, 9, e12441. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12441
Molnár, T., Lehoczky, I., Edviné Meleg, E., Boros, G., Specziár, A., Mozsár, A., Vitál, Z., Józsa, V., Allele, W., Urbányi, B., Fatle, F. A. A., & Kovács, B. (2021). Comparison of the Genetic Structure of Invasive Bigheaded Carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) Populations in Central-European Lacustrine and Riverine Habitats. Animals, 11(7), 2018. http://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072018
Projects
Intelligent Fish feeding through Integration of ENabling technologies and Circular principle
The iFishIENCi EU project enhances fish farming with innovations, monitoring systems, smart feeding, and health tracking. Collaborators refine systems, optimize breeding, and improve feeding efficiency in key commercial fish species (African catfish, tilapia, and trout). It also explores waste valorization, aiming for zero waste and value creation.
https://ifishienci.eu/
