Histopathological and ultrastructural assessment of two mugilid species infected with myxozoans and helminths

The histopathology and ultrastructure of the intestine of mullets, Liza ramada and Liza saliens, from Comacchio lagoons (northern Italy) naturally infected with myxozoans and helminths were investigated and described. Sixty‐two (80.5%) of 77 mullets harboured one or more of the following parasites species: Myxobolus mugchelo (Myxozoa), Neoechinorhynchus agilis (Acanthocephala), Haplosplanchnus pachysomus and Dicrogaster contractus (Digenea). Co‐occurrence of helminths with myxozoans was common. The main damage caused by digeneans was destruction of the mucosal epithelium of the villi, necrosis and degeneration of intestinal epithelial cells. More severe intestinal damage was caused by acanthocephalans which reach the submucosa layer with their proboscis. At the site of helminths infection, several mast cells (MCs), rodlet cells (RCs), mucous cells and few neutrophils and macrophages were observed in the epithelium. RCs and mucous cells exhibited discharge activity in close vicinity to the worm's tegument. M. mugchelo conspicuous plasmodia were encysted mainly in muscle and submucosa layers of the intestine. Indeed, spores of M. mugchelo were documented within the epithelial cells of host intestine and in proximity to MCs. Degranulation of the MCs near the myxozoans was very frequent.     

Effect of in vitro selected synbiotics (galactooligosaccharide and mannanoligosaccharide with or without Enterococcus faecalis) on growth performance,immune responses and intestinal microbiota of juvenile narrow clawed crayfish,Astacus leptodactylus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823

The aim of this study was to determine the best synbiotic combination (based on growth and short‐chain fatty acids production) between Enterococcus faecalis and eight prebiotics. Based on the results of in vitro studies, E. faecalis + galactooligosaccharide (EGOS) and E. faecalis + mannanoligosaccharide (EMOS) were selected as synbiotics. A 126‐day feeding trial was conducted to compare the effects of prebiotics, probiotic and synbiotics on the growth indices, In vivo ADC of nutrients, digestive enzymes, hemolymph indices and finally, biological responses against 48‐hr Aeromonas hydrophila exposure challenges of juvenile (4.13 ± 0.12 g) crayfish. The highest values of SGR (2.19% body weight day^?1), VFI (2.75% body weight day^?1), survival rate (96.67%) and the lowest FCR (2.33) were observed in the juvenile crayfish fed the EGOS‐ diet. The significantly (p < .05) highest means of in vivo ADC_OM, in vivo ADC_CP, in vivo ADC_CF and in vivo ADC_GE were measured in crayfish fed the EGOS‐ diet. The mean survival rate of Aeromonas hydrophila‐injected crayfish fed the EGOS‐ diet (56%) was significantly (p < .05) higher than those of fed the control (8.67%) and other diets (22.67–35.32%). At the levels tested, 7.86 log CFU E. faecalis g^?1 + 10 g kg^?1 GOS in the diet was considered optimum.     

Dietary nucleotide‐rich yeast supplementation improves growth,innate immunity and intestinal morphology of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary nucleotide (NT)‐rich yeast supplementation on growth, innate immunity and intestinal morphology in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Four isonitrogenous and isolipidic practical diets were formulated to contain 0 (control), 10, 30 and 50 g/kg of NT‐rich yeast, respectively. A total of 480 shrimp with an average initial body weight of 1.86 ± 0.02 g were randomly allocated into four groups, with four replicates per group and 30 shrimp each replicate. The results indicated that shrimp fed the diet containing 50 g/kg NT‐rich yeast had significantly higher weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) than those fed the control diet, and the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was observed in the shrimp fed the 50 g/kg NT‐rich yeast supplemental diet. However, there was no significant difference in survival among all treatments. The crude protein of whole shrimp in the 50 g/kg NT‐rich yeast group was higher than that in the control group. Total protein, triglyceride concentrations, the activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in serum were significantly influenced by the dietary NT‐rich yeast supplementation. The activities of serum phenoloxidase (PO) and lysozyme (LZM) of shrimp fed the diet containing 50 g/kg NT‐rich yeast were higher than those in shrimp fed the other diets. Relative expressions of alp and lzm significantly upregulated in the 30 g/kg NT‐rich yeast group compared to the control group. The intestinal fold height and fold width in the 30 g/kg NT‐rich yeast group were significantly higher than those fed the control diet; and the highest microvillus height occurred in the shrimp fed the 50 g/kg NT‐rich yeast diet. In summary, dietary 30–50 g/kg NT‐rich yeast supplementation promotes growth performance, enhances innate immunity and improves intestinal morphology of Litopenaeus vannamei.     

Non‐specific immune responses and intestinal immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fed Jujube (Ziziphus jujube) fruit extract

This study investigated the effects of Jujube (Ziziphus jujube) fruit extract (JFE) as an excellent source of nutrients and phytochemicals on the innate immune responses and expression of genes involved in intestinal immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fingerlings. Three hundred healthy carps (10.78 ± 0.05 g) fingerlings were randomly allocated to 12 fibre glass tanks (300L; 15 fish per tank) and fed for 8 weeks with experimental diets which contained different levels of JFE (0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, or 1%). Thereafter, serum non‐specific immune parameters [total immunoglobulin (Ig) as well as alternative complement (ACH50) and lysozyme activity (SL)] and expression of genes involved in intestinal immunity (lyz, tnf‐alpha, il1b, il8, il10, and tgfb) were measured. The results revealed a significant elevation of Ig level in the JFE‐fed fish (p < 0.05) over the control fish. However, there was no significant difference among treated groups in case of serum total Ig. The highest levels of SL and ACH50 were observed in fish fed 1% of JFE. Nonetheless, no significant difference was noticed regarding SL and ACH50 of control and other supplemented groups (0.25% and 0.5% JFE). Also, expression of lyz, tnf‐alpha, and il1b genes increased significantly (p < 0.05) in JFE‐fed fish, in a dose‐dependent manner. On the other hand, significant (p < 0.05) down‐regulation of il110 and tgfb were noticed in treated groups. The present findings suggested that extraction of Jujube, Z. jujube fruit, possesses beneficial effects on immune responses of common carp.     

NAC对早期断奶仔猪抗氧化能力和免疫能力的影响

试验旨在研究日粮添加N-乙酰半胱氨酸(NAC)对早期断奶仔猪的氧化还原状况和免疫指标的影响。试验选取10窝仔猪,随机分为2组,每组5窝,对照组饲喂基础日粮,试验组从7日龄开始,至25日龄时结束,在基础日粮中添加500mg/kg NAC。仔猪21日龄断奶。25日龄时,每窝选取1头(每组共5头),采集血样和脾脏样。结果表明,日粮添加NAC组显著提高了血清谷胱甘肽过氧化酶(GSH-Px)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)水平(P0.05),降低了丙二醛(MDA)和过氧化氢(H2O2)(P0.05)的含量,同时增加了血清中免疫球蛋白IgM的含量(P0.05),而对仔猪血清炎性因子水平无显著影响。NAC处理能显著提高脾脏中IL-2,IL-6及I-κBαmRNA的相对表达水平(P0.05)。上述结果表明,日粮中添加500mg/kg NAC显著提高了断奶仔猪的抗氧化能力和免疫力,缓解断奶应激。     

大口黑鲈饲料中2种植物性蛋白质混合物替代鱼粉的研究

为了探讨在大口黑鲈饲料中去皮豆粕分别与玉米蛋白和大米蛋白组成的2种植物性蛋白质混合物替代鱼粉的可行性,分别于含45%和30%鱼粉的配方中配比上述2种植物性蛋白质混合物,配制成4种等氮等能的饲料。用上述饲料饲养初始体质量为(58.69±0.07)g的大口黑鲈53 d。结果显示:30%鱼粉组的终末体质量和特定生长率显著高于45%鱼粉组(P0.05),而饲料效率、蛋白质效率、蛋白质消化率和氨基酸消化率之间无显著性差异(P0.05)。玉米蛋白组的饲料效率和蛋白质效率显著高于大米蛋白组(P0.05),而摄食量显著低于大米蛋白组(P0.05)。全鱼和肌肉的粗蛋白质、粗脂肪、水分和灰分各组间差异不显著(P0.05)。30%鱼粉组的血清溶菌酶活性和血清蛋白含量显著高于45%鱼粉组(P0.05),而玉米蛋白组和大米蛋白组对血清溶菌酶活性和血清蛋白含量的影响差异不显著(P0.05)。红细胞数和红细胞压积各组间差异不显著(P0.05)。本研究表明,去皮豆粕分别与玉米蛋白和大米蛋白组成的植物性蛋白质混合物可以使大口黑鲈饲料中的鱼粉含量由45%降至30%;去皮豆粕与玉米蛋白组成的植物性蛋白质混合物的替代效果优于去皮豆粕与大米蛋白组成的植物性蛋白质混合物。     

Supplementation of heat‐inactivated Bacillus clausii DE5 in diets for grouper,Epinephelus coioides,improves feed utilization,intestinal and systemic immune responses and not growth performance

In recent years, more and more attentions have been paid to the development and application of probiotics in aquaculture, and viable probiotics have been extensively studied, while rare information was available about inactivated probiotics in aquaculture. Therefore, in this study, a feeding trial was designed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of heat‐inactivated probiotic Bacillus clausii DE5 on growth performance, immune response and key immune genes expression in head kidney and intestine in grouper Epinephelus coioides. Fish were fed for 60 days with control diet (C) and two experimental diets containing 1.0 × 10⁸ CFU/g live (T1) and heat‐inactivated (T2) B. clausii DE5, respectively. The probiotic treatments did not affect the final weight, weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) of E. coioides at days 30 and 60 (p > .05), while both heat‐inactivated and live B. clausii DE5 significantly decreased the feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) at day 60 (p < .05). Serum lysozyme activity and complement C3 level in the two probiotic treatments were significantly higher than those in the control (p < .05). The lysozyme activity and complement C3 level at day 60 were significantly higher than those at day 30 (p < .05), while no significant interaction effect between diet and administration date was observed. Moreover, the heat‐inactivated B. clausii DE5 significantly improved the expression of TLR5, pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐8 and IL‐1β) and TGF‐β1 in head kidney and intestine (p < .05), while the live probiotic did not show any significant effect on the expression of these key immune‐related genes in head kidney and intestine. These results indicate that dietary supplementation of heat‐inactivated B. clausii DE5 effectively improved feed utilization and both the local and systemic immune responses of E. coioides.     

Dietary supplements of guanosine improve the growth,non‐specific immunity of sea cucumber,Apostichopus japonicus Selenka,and its resistance against Vibrio splendidus

The growth response, non‐specific immune activities and disease resistance were measured in sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (initial average weight 6.80 ± 0.10 g), when fed diets supplemented with graded levels of guanosine from the guanosine‐5’‐monophosphate disodium (GMP) at 0 (control), 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 g/kg for 8 weeks. The results showed that GMP supplemented at 0.6 and 1.2 g/kg significantly enhanced the growth of sea cucumber. Sea cucumber fed a diet with 0.6 g/kg of GMP had significantly higher intracellular superoxide anion production, nitric oxide synthase activity, lysozyme activity and the total superoxide dismutase (T‐SOD) activity than those in control group (p < .05). Increased lysozyme activity and T‐SOD activity were also found in sea cucumber fed GMP at 1.2 g/kg. Moreover, there was significantly lower cumulative mortality after the disease challenge in sea cucumber fed the diets with 0.6 and 1.2 g/kg GMP than that in control and 0.3 g/kg GMP groups (p < .05), and no significant difference was observed between 0.6 and 1.2 g/kg GMP groups. These results suggested that feeding GMP at a dose of 0.6 g/kg could enhance growth, non‐specific immunity of sea cucumber as well as its resistance against Vibrio splendidus.     

不同饲养模式对奶牛血液生化指标及激素含量的影响

本试验旨在研究不同饲养模式对奶牛血清生化指标及激素含量的影响。分别选择粗放饲养（EP）、集约化饲养（CP）和不完全集约化饲养（IP）模式下体重、胎次、泌乳日龄相近的健康奶牛各30头,采集血样,检测血液中各项生化指标及代谢相关激素,分析其与奶牛不同饲养模式的关系。结果表明,CP型、IP型奶牛血液中血糖（GLU）、白蛋白（ALB）、非酯化脂肪酸（NEFA）、β-羟丁酸（BHB）、谷丙转氨酶（ALT）、碱性磷酸酶（ALP）、脂多糖（LPS）和组胺（HIS）含量与EP型相比有升高的趋势,而血液中免疫球蛋白（IgG、IgA）、多胺（TA）含量则显著低于EP型（P<0.05）;CP型、IP型奶牛血液中胰岛素（INS）、胰岛素/胰高血糖素（INS/GC）、甲状腺素（T3）、生长激素（GH）含量与EP型相比有升高趋势,而血液中胰高血糖素（GC）含量则低于EP型。综上所述,不同饲养模式对奶牛血液生化指标及相关激素分泌有不同程度的影响,其中以CP型饲养模式较好,且CP型>IP型>EP型。