Effect of fish meal replacement by Chlorella meal with dietary cellulase addition on growth performance,digestive enzymatic activities,histology and myogenic genes’ expression for crucian carp Carassius auratus

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of fish meal (FM) replacement by Chlorella meal (CM) with dietary cellulase supplementation on growth performance, digestive enzymatic activities, histology and myogenic genes’ expression in crucian carp Carassius auratus (initial body weight: 2.90 ± 0.02 g, mean ± SEM). Six isonitrogenous diets were formulated at two cellulase levels (0 and 2 g kg^?1). At each cellulase level, CM was added at three levels of 0, 533.1 and 710.8 g kg^?1 to substitute 0, 75 and 100% of dietary FM respectively. Each experimental diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups with 25 juvenile fish per fibreglass tank for 8 weeks. Dietary CM substitution significantly increased growth, feed utilization, amylase activity and the expression of Myod, Mrf4 and Myf5, but reduced the Myog expression. Dietary cellulase addition increased hepatosomatic and viscerosomatic index, lipase activity and the expression of Mrf4, but reduced trypsin activity and the expression of Myog and Myf5. Dietary CM substitution enlarged the cell size and also caused some karyopyknosis in liver. Our results showed that CM could totally replace FM in diets; dietary cellulase supplementation at the level of 2 g kg^?1 played a subtle role in improving growth and feed utilization for crucian carp.     

Evaluation of dietary inclusion of housefly maggot (Musca domestica) meal on growth,fillet composition and physiological responses for barramundi,Lates calcarifer

The study was to evaluate the effects of dietary fish meal (FM) partially replaced by housefly maggot meal (HMM) on growth, fillet composition and physiological responses of juvenile barramundi, Lates calcarifera. HMM at 100, 150, 200 and 300 g kg^?1 was supplemented in the basal diet to replace dietary FM protein. Basal diet without HMM supplementation was used as control. Total of five experimental diets were fed to triplicate groups of juvenile barramundi (initial weight: 9.66 ± 0.22 g) in a flow‐through rearing system for 8 weeks. Fish fed all experimental diets showed no effects (P > 0.05) on weight gain and whole body protein, lipid and moisture content. Fish fed control diet and 100 g kg^?1 HMM diet had the highest (P < 0.05) hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, followed by 150 g kg^?1 HMM group, the lowest in 200 and 200 g kg^?1 HMM groups. Hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) value was the highest in fish fed 150–300 g kg^?1 HMM diets, followed by 100 g kg^?1 HMM group and the lowest in fish fed the control diet. Fish fed the 300 g kg^?1 HMM diet had lower plasma lysozyme activity than fish fed other diets. The results indicated that up to 300 g kg^?1 HMM can be used to substitute dietary FM protein without negative effect on growth. Although physiological responses were also considered, up to 100 g kg^?1 HMM in barramundi diet was recommended.     

Evaluation of dietary natural mineral materials as an antibiotic replacer on growth performance,non‐specific immune responses and disease resistance in rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss

We evaluated the effects of some dietary natural mineral materials as an antibiotic replacer based on growth performance, non‐specific immune responses and disease resistance in juvenile and subadult rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. First experiment, juvenile rainbow trout averaging 2.7 ± 0.02 g (mean ± SD) were fed one of the six experimental diets; a basal commercial diet as a control (CON), CON with oxytetracycline (OTC), with yellow loess (YL), with Macsumsuk^® (MS), with Song‐Gang^® stone (SG) and with barley stone (BS) at 0.4% of each diet. At the end of 8‐week feeding trial, weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency (FE) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of fish fed YL diet were significantly higher than those of fish fed CON diet. Non‐specific immune responses such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), myeloperoxidase (MPO), lysozyme (LYS) activity and oxidative radical production of fish fed YL diet were higher than those of fish fed CON diet. At the end of 15 days of challenge test with Aeromonas salmonicida, average cumulative survival rate of fish fed YL diet was significantly higher than that of fish fed BS and CON diets. However, there were no significant differences among fish fed YL, SG and OTC diets. Second experiment, subadult rainbow trout averaging 261.5 ± 3.5 g (mean ± SD) were fed one of the four experimental diets for 22 weeks: CON, and CON with OTC, YL or SG at 0.4% of each diet. At the end of feeding, growth performance of fish fed SG and YL diets was significantly higher than that of fish fed CON diet. Non‐specific immune responses in terms of SOD, MPO, LYS and NBT of fish fed SG and YL diets were significantly higher than those of fish fed CON diet. However, there were no significant differences among the fish fed YL, SG and OTC diets. The results indicate that dietary yellow loess or Song‐gang^® stone at 0.4% of diet could replace oxytetracycline in juvenile and subadult rainbow trout.     

Optimal egg viability storage conditions in two commercial fairy shrimps (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Anostraca) from Thailand

Optimal egg viability storage conditions for two commercial fairy shrimps, Branchinella thailandensis and Streptocephalus sirindhornae, were investigated. Eggs for each treatment were kept under eight different conditions at four different temperatures for 24 months. Every 2 months, representative eggs were hatched to evaluate hatching percentages. Low temperature and oxygen, darkness and dry conditions significantly influenced egg hatchability of both species. Undehydrated eggs hatchability in all conditions ranged from 0 to 10% in S. sirindhornae and 0 to 20% in B. thailandensis. Hatching percentages of B. thailandensis were higher than those of S. sirindhornae. Hatchability under all experimental regimes continuously decreased over time, except for dry eggs stored at ?18°C in dark‐anoxic conditions. Hatchability was markedly delayed in both species over time. We demonstrate that both species’ eggs can be stored at ?18°C at least for 24 months with high hatchability in B. thailandensis (80%) and S. sirindhornae (60%) under dry, dark, anoxic conditions.     

The influence of diet on the grass carp intestinal microbiota and bile acids

To elucidate the influence of different diet on the intestinal microbe and bile acids, we characterized the microbiota and bile acids in the hindgut content of grass carp fed on formula feed (FF group) or Sudan grass (SG group). Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria were significantly more represented in FF group than in SG group whereas Bacteroidetes was significantly more abundant in SG group than in FF group. Simpson diversity was significantly higher in FF group than in SG group (t = 2.33, P < 0.05). Chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) was the most abundant primary bile acid in the two groups, with average concentrations of 1.03 ± 0.62 and 4.44 ± 1.80 ng mg^?1 in SG and FF group respectively. The most abundant secondary bile acid was deoxycholic acid (DCA) in SG group and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in FF group, with average concentrations of 0.17 ± 0.06 and 2.67 ± 0.88 ng mg^?1 respectively. UDCA is significantly more abundant in FF group than in SG group, and the total bile acids were higher in FF group than in SG group. Cetobacterium and Fusobacteriaceae U114 were significantly related with the concentrations of CDCA (r = 0.85, P < 0.05 and r = 0.82, P < 0.05 respectively) and UDCA (r = 0.92, P < 0.01 and r = 0.92, P < 0.01 respectively). However, Bacteroides was negatively related with the concentration of UDCA (r = ?0.67, P < 0.05). Overall, there existed certain relationship between the intestinal microbes and the faecal bile acids, and they were both influenced by the diet.     

Two biomass preparation methods provide insights into studying microbial communities of intestinal mucosa in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

Animal digestive tract is habitat for a large number of autochthonous microbiota, which play central roles in multiple biological and physiological processes of the host. In this study, two different micro‐biomass preparation methods were employed to evaluate the diversity of intestinal mucosa‐associated microbiota in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus). Genomic DNAs were isolated either directly from intestinal mucosal samples (group A), or from micro‐biomass after microbial dissociation (group B). Community richness, diversity and evenness indices were all higher in group B, but differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.97, P = 0.33, P = 0.34 respectively). Furthermore, group B samples exhibited an increased ratio of bacterial DNA in comparison with group A samples, but the difference was also not statistically significant (P = 0.74). In addition, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05) at the taxonomic level. Our results support previous findings that there exists a great abundance of the intestinal mucosa‐adherent microbiota in the grass carp; among these, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Spirochaetes and Fusobacteria were the most common phyla. Within these microbiota, Paenibacillus, Bacteroides, Bacillus and Cetobacterium genera comprise the majority of the community, implicating their functional importance (e.g. as probiotics) to their host. Our results contribute towards a better understanding of the intestinal microbial profile of grass carp. Both micro‐biomass preparation techniques proved to be feasible for studying mucosa‐adherent microbiota of grass carp; however, the second method (group B) provides a protocol that is somewhat more effective than the first method (group A).     

Comparative survival and growth performance of European lobster larvae,Homarus gammarus,reared on dry feed and conspecifics

A bottleneck of crustacean larval culture concerns nutrition and associated cannibalism in communal rearing systems, which impact on larval survival, development and growth. For early‐stage European lobster, Homarus gammarus larvae, feeding ecology and body composition are largely unknown. We initiated four progressive feeding experiments (novel feed types, feeding regime and feed size and cannibalism effects) on growth and survival, to inform and update husbandry protocols. Performance of larvae offered a dry commercial feed was not significantly different compared with a conventional wet plankton feed of the same ration and size grade (both within 600–1,000 μm). Further experiments found that the same ration of dry feed offered six times daily improved development and growth, over the conventional regime of three times daily. Small‐grade dry feed (particles: 250–360 μm) improved larval performance compared with a larger feed (360–650 μm). Larvae were also fed different proportions of dry feed and/or conspecifics in both communal and individual rearing systems (the latter preventing cannibalism via segregation). Individually reared larvae, fed only dead conspecifics, displayed the greatest survival (80%) to postlarvae. This underlines the impact of cannibalism on survival and nutrition in H. gammarus larviculture. A final experiment analysed H. gammarus zoea 1 composition, identifying deficiencies in ash and carbohydrate in lobster feeds. This suggests a need for a species‐specific, formulated dry feed for H. gammarus larviculture. Our research represents the first investigation of H. gammarus larval composition and dietary requirements and highlights decreased growth potential associated with providing nutrition solely from generic commercial feed.     

Effect of l‐ascorbyl‐2‐polyphosphate supplementation on growth performance,body composition,antioxidative capacity and salinity stress tolerance of juvenile Pacific white shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of ascorbic acid (AsA), in the form of l ‐ascorbyl‐2‐polyphosphate (LAPP) on growth performance, body composition, antioxidative capacity and salinity stress tolerance of juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Five practical diets (46% crude protein and 7.6% lipid) supplemented with graded levels of AsA (14.64, 48.55, 84.98, 308.36 and 639.27 mg kg^?1 diet) were fed to five replicate groups of L. vannamei (mean initial wet weight 0.57 g). No significant differences were found on growth performance among all treatments. However, whole body lipid content significantly decreased with dietary AsA levels increasing. Activities of total antioxidant capacity, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase were significantly affected by dietary AsA levels. Shrimp fed LAPP‐free diet had higher malondialdehyde content than those fed the diets supplemented with LAPP. Dietary AsA levels higher than 308.36 mg kg^?1 diet increased the survival of shrimps after 1, 2 and 3 h of acute salinity change. Broken‐line regression analysis on survival after 3 h of salinity stress and second‐degree polynomial regression analysis on glutathione reductase data indicated that the optimal dietary AsA requirement of L. vannamei was estimated to be 306.39, 319.75 mg kg^?1 diet respectively.