甘草总黄酮对高脂条件下罗非鱼肝损伤的保护作用

为了研究甘草总黄酮对高脂饲料造成的罗非鱼(Oreochromis niloticus)脂肪肝损伤是否具有保护作用,随机将180尾健康无伤罗非鱼分成6组,即对照组、高脂饲料模型组和4个不同浓度甘草总黄酮组(0.05、0.10、0.50、1.00 g·kg^-1甘草总黄酮),每组30尾。饲喂90 d后,采集罗非鱼各实验组肝,测定肝匀浆中超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性、还原型谷胱甘肽(GSH)活性、丙二醛(MDA)含量、甘油三酯(TG)含量、总胆固醇(TC)含量、总抗氧化能力(T-AOC)水平,Western blotting法检测肝中核转录因子-κB P65(NF-κB P65)和核转录因子-κB C-Rel (NF-κB C-Rel)蛋白表达水平,RT-PCR法测定肝中微粒体甘油三酸酯转移蛋白(MTTP)和载脂蛋白B100(ApoB100)基因表达情况。结果表明:与对照组相比,高脂饲料模型组罗非鱼肝匀浆中TG、TC、MDA含量极显著(P<0.01)升高,GSH活性、SOD活性、T-AOC水平均极显著(P<0.01)降低;MTTP和ApoB100 mRNA表达水平降低(P<0.01或P<0.05);Western blotting结果显示,NF-κB P 65和C-Rel蛋白表达水平升高。饲料中加入甘草总黄酮后,与高脂饲料模型组相比,罗非鱼肝中GSH活性、SOD活性、T-AOC水平不同程度提高,TC、TG、MDA含量和NF-κB P65、C-Rel蛋白表达水平不同程度降低,MTTP和ApoB100的mRNA表达水平升高,以0.50 g·kg^-1甘草总黄酮组效果较好。说明甘草总黄酮对于罗非鱼脂肪肝损伤具有一定的保护作用,可以缓解高脂饲料造成的脂肪肝损伤。     

Impact of sublethal di‐n‐butyl phthalate on the aquaculture fish species Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): histopathology and oxidative stress assessment

Phthalates such as di‐n‐butyl phthalate (DBP) and their esters are widely used plasticizers, their ubiquitous presence in daily life, inevitably leads to their restricted use due to important environmental pollution and health impacts and endocrine disruption potential. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a sublethal concentration of 10 mg L^?1 DBP on haematocrit (HCT) values, gills and liver histology, malondialdehyde (MDA, 2‐thiobarbituric acid‐TBA reactivity) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in gills and liver tissue as oxidative stress biomarkers in the aquaculture fish species Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after 24 (DBP‐24) and 96 (DBP‐96) h exposure. No differences were found between per cent HCT values in the 24 h exposure groups (P > 0.05). Response of antioxidant defence systems in liver and gill tissues of the fish were dependent on exposure duration and changed to a higher extent during 96 h. MDA levels in liver tissue increased in DBP treated fish in comparison to the control fish. However, the differences between the exposure and control groups were not significant (P > 0.05). A statistically significant decrease (P > 0.05) was recorded in gill MDA levels in the DBP‐96 group when compared to the control and DBP‐24 groups. The liver GSH levels were unchanged in the DBP treated fish. However, GSH levels were significantly lower in the gill tissue of the DBP‐96 group. Exposure to DBP caused several degenerative changes in the histology of gill and liver tissue. Gills displayed hyperaemia, epithelial lifting, oedema, talengiectasia, epithelial hyperplasia and fusion of secondary lamellae, whereas in liver several circulatory anomalies (hyperaemia, blood congestion and sinosoid dilatation) and vacuolization of hepatocytes were observed. Histopathological results demonstrated that the gills were more affected than the liver perhaps due to their direct contact with DBP.     

Characterization of microbial communities in intensive GIFT tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) pond systems during the peak period of breeding

Aquaculture pond is a complex ecosystem where the microorganisms in the sediments, in the animal intestinal tract and in water interact with each other to influence the water quality and health of aquatic animals. In order to understand the spatial distribution and relationship of microbial communities in intensively farmed genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT, Oreochromis niloticus), 454 high‐throughput pyrosequencing was applied to analyse the 16S rRNA gene of bacteria in intensive GIFT ponds in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China. A total of 72 747 initial sequences were obtained from four depths of pond water, from tilapia large intestines and from pond sediment. The most common phylum in all samples was Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria were the most abundant in water, Fusobacteria and Firmicutes in the large intestine and Chloroflexi in sediment samples. The sediment microbial community structure was comparatively similar to that of the tilapia large intestine. The microbial communities from different water depths were somewhat similar, especially the three most shallow samples, although the abundance of Actinobacteria gradually decreased with increased water depth. This data offer a preliminary exploration of the response mechanisms of the bacterial communities to aquafarming and contributes to the understanding of the status of bacterial communities of tilapia pond systems during the peak period of breeding from the aspect of their spatial distributions.     

Effects of supplementary feeds with different protein levels on growth and economic performances of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cultured in a rain-fed rice–fish ecosystem

This study investigated the effects of supplementary feeds with different crude protein (CP) levels on the growth and economic performances of sex-reversed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) reared in a rain-fed rice–fish ecosystem for a period of 120 days. There were four treatments—namely, traditional feed (21% CP), formulated feed (26% CP), commercial feed (30% CP), and control (no feed was used)—with three replicates per treatment. Fish (30.04 g) were stocked in ditches at a rate of 0.5 fish m^?2 considering the total area and fed one of the tested feeds twice daily at the rate of 2%–5% of body weight. Water-quality parameters of the ditches were monitored fortnightly, and these parameters were found suitable for fish farming. Organic matter, total nitrogen, and available phosphorous in soil were increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the feed treatments after fish cultivation. Highly significant weight gain and SGR were observed with fish fed the commercial feed as compared with other treatments. The highest benefit-cost ratio (2.15) was found in the control, followed by formulated feed (1.90), but in the case of numerical net return, it was the opposite. However, commercial feed showed the lowest benefit-cost ratio (1.67) due to higher feed cost than other supplementary feeds. Therefore, this study suggests that fish fed with a formulated feed (26% CP) produced significantly higher net economic return in the rice–fish farming system.     

Semisynthetic ferulic acid derivative: an efficient feed additive for Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Ferulic acid (FA) derivative was synthesized by modifying the functional groups of FA as dietary additive in the feeding of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) juveniles. Structural confirmation of this compound was based on IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR techniques. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary FA derivative supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant status and serum biochemical parameters of GIFT juveniles compared with that of FA. A total of 675 fish with an average initial weight of 10.73 ± 0.40 g were fed nine diets supplemented with 0, 0.26, 0.52, 1.04 and 2.08 mmol kg^?1 FA, or 0.26, 0.52, 1.04 and 2.08 mmol kg^?1 FA derivative. Each diet was assigned to three replicate groups of 25 experimental tilapia for 56 days. Weight gain (WG) in groups of fish fed FA derivative was much higher than that of fish fed FA diet (P < 0.05). The antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT and GPx) in serum and liver of tilapia fed the FA derivative diets were significantly higher, while the malondialdehyde values were significantly lower than those of the fish fed the FA diets (P < 0.05). The serum biochemical parameters of GIFT were significantly improved by the FA derivative supplement. Moreover, feed conversion ratio, hepatosomatic index and viscerosomatic index were significantly decreased in fish fed FA or FA derivative diet at 0.52 mmol kg^?1 feed (P < 0.05). The investigation on the semisynthetic FA derivative provides a new way for developing safe and efficient feed additives.     

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Streptococcus spp. isolated from tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) cultured in river-based cage and earthen ponds in Northern Thailand

Streptococcus spp. are major pathogenic bacteria associated with massive mortality in tilapia. This study investigated the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) and Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae) isolated from tilapia in river-based floating cage and earthen pond farms in northern Thailand. Isolates were identified by biochemical and molecular analyses. Capsular typing, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction and multilocus sequence typing were performed to investigate the genetic relatedness. Six and one isolates were confirmed as GBS and S. iniae, respectively. All Streptococcus spp. isolates were obtained from 4 river-based cage farms (4/33), while samples collected from earthen pond farms (N = 28) were negative for streptococcosis. All GBS with serotype Ⅲ and sequence type (ST) 283 was observed. The β-haemolytic GBS isolates were resistant to five antimicrobials, while the S. iniae was susceptible to all antimicrobials. This study indicates both GBS and S. iniae are the major bacterial pathogens responsible for streptococcosis infection in farmed tilapia of northern Thailand with GBS as dominant species. This survey highlights that the river-based cage farms seriously impact on the healthy development of the tilapia industry.     

罗非鱼无乳链球菌LrrG-Sip融合蛋白免疫原性研究

为探究无乳链球菌LrrG(Leucine-rich repeat protein from GBS)和表面免疫原性蛋白Sip(surface immunogenic protein)串联表达的LrrG-Sip重组融合蛋白的免疫原性,该研究将原核表达的LrrG-Sip重组融合蛋白分别以0.5μg·g~(-1)(R1组)、1.0μg·g~(-1)(R2组)和1.5μg·g-1(R3组)每尾200μL腹腔注射免疫尼罗罗非鱼(Oreochromis niloticus),同时以Sip蛋白(S组)、LrrG蛋白(L组)以及PBS(P组)作为对照。2周后对所有免疫鱼体进行无乳链球菌(Streptococcus agalactiae)人工攻毒,攻毒剂量为其半致死浓度(LD_(50):4.0×108CFU·mL~(-1))。结果显示LrrG-Sip重组融合蛋白R1组对尼罗罗非鱼的相对免疫保护率最高,达89.14%;且免疫后第14和第28天,该组鱼体血清抗体OD_(450nm)值分别达0.63和0.64,均显著高于单一蛋白对照组(S和L组)和PBS组(P0.05);R1组鱼体血清过氧化物酶(POD)和碱性磷酸酶(AKP)活性在上述2个时间点也显著高于其他组(P0.05);但溶菌酶(LZM)和总超氧化物歧化酶(T-SOD)活性与其他组之间差异不显著(P0.05)。初步表明LrrG-Sip重组融合蛋白具有良好的免疫原性,其免疫原性明显优于单个蛋白,且能有效减少免疫剂量。     

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the growth hormone gene of Oreochromis niloticus and their association with growth performance

Polymorphisms in the growth hormone (GH) gene that is associated with the growth rate of farmed fish have been the target of many breeding programmes. The present study aimed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GH gene regions to evaluate the association of SNP variations with the growth rate of two Nile tilapia: Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) strains. The targeted regions were amplified, sequenced, aligned and screened for the presence of SNPs; thereafter, performance tests were used to check for the association between SNPs and weight. Allele and genotype frequencies were estimated for each SNP and genotype. Genotype blocks or sets of SNP genotypes and frequencies were also estimated. Association between SNPs and growth rate was statistically evaluated using a univariate linear mixed model that included both fixed and random effects. A total of 10 SNPs were identified, nine in the proximal promoter and one located in the 5′ UTR, forming 10 genotype blocks. In all weight recordings, five genotype blocks were significantly associated with the highest weights. Single nucleotide polymorphisms 6‐10 were also found to be significantly associated with growth (p‐value < .05). Genotypes with higher additive genetic values for weight were identified in the Chitralada strain, suggesting a possible impact of these additive effects of the GH SNP genotype on the growth rate of Nile tilapia. These findings may be used as part of marker‐assisted selection in tilapia breeding programmes.     

First serological evidence of West Nile virus infection in wild birds in Northern Algeria

While the epidemiology of Flaviviruses has been extensively studied in most of the Mediterranean basin, little is known about the current situation in Algeria. In order to detect the circulation of West Nile (WNV) and Usutu viruses (USUV) in Kabylia, 165 sera were collected from two wild birds species, namely the long distance migrant Turdus philomelos (song thrush) (n = 92) and the resident Passer domesticus (house sparrow) (n = 73). A total of 154 sera were first analyzed by commercial competition ELISA. WNV and USUV micro-neutralization tests were performed on all c-ELISA positive sera and all samples with poor volume. Overall, 7.8 % (CI95 %: 3.5–11.9) were positive by c-ELISA. Positive results were detected in 12.5 % (CI95 %:5.6–19.4) of song thrushes and 1.5 % (CI95 %: 0.0–4.5) for sparrow.Micro-neutralization tests revealed an overall seroprevalence of 6.7 % for WNV (CI95 %: 2.9–10.3), Neutralizing antibodies were found in 8.7 % (CI95 %: 3.0–14.4) for song thrushes and in 4.1 % (CI95 %: 0.0–8.7) of sparrows. The current study demonstrates significant seroprevalence of WNV antibodies in wild birds in Algeria.