A comparison of RNA concentrations and ornithine decarboxylase activity in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) muscle tissue,with respect to specific growth rates and diel variations

RNA concentrations and enzyme activities are often used as indices of recent growth in fish, but few studies have used both methods to assess the same fish. This study measured RNA concentrations and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in muscle tissue of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to compare their usefulness for reflecting specific growth rates, and to determine whether either growth index was influenced by diel variations or time of feeding. Three groups (n = 54 in total) were fed 1.5% of body weight in commercial pellets in four feedings per day. One group was fed only in the morning (0830–1230h), one in the afternoon (1430–1830h), and one in the morning and afternoon (0830–1830h). At the end of ten days, fish were sampled at three times (0130h, 1030h, 1630h) over a single 24h period. Correlations to specific growth rate were slightly higher for RNA concentrations than for ODC activity, but both were highly significant. RNA and ODC activity were also correlated to each other. These results suggest that RNA concentration and ODC activity, taken together, can be used to monitor changes in both the numbers and activity of ribosomes. For RNA concentrations, there was no evidence of an effect of diel variations or the time of feeding. For ODC activity, a significant diel effect (all feed schedules combined) was detected if one non-growing fish was excluded from the analysis; activity of the enzyme was slightly higher in the sample taken at night (0130h) than in the two daytime samples. Contribution no. 8, Catamaran Brook Habitat Research Project     

Sexual dimorphism of fast muscle fibre recruitment in farmed Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.)

Commercially farmed Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) were reared at the Aga Marin's facility located on Dønna (Norway) under ambient environmental conditions in duplicate 15 × 15 × 8 m netpens (May 2004 to May 2005). Twenty fish were sampled five times over a twelve month production period during which time the average body weight increased from 1.26 to 2.08 kg (n = 100 fish). Body mass, fork length (L_F), and the number and size distributions of fast muscle fibres were determined in male and female fish. All males matured during the autumn whereas no maturation was observed in females. From the point of maturation females had superior growth performance to males and body mass and the total cross-sectional area of muscle were 1.4-fold (P < 0.05) and 1.3-fold higher (P < 0.01) respectively by May 2005. The total number of fast muscle fibres per trunk cross-section at 0.55 L_F was 24.5% higher in females (7.58 × 10⁵) than males (5.80 × 10⁵) prior to sexual maturation. In females, muscle fibre recruitment slowed with short days and low water temperatures (< 6.5 °C), but had increased to 1.01 × 10⁶ by May 2005 (P < 0.001). In contrast, there was no growth and no increase in muscle fibre number in males following the onset of maturation. The distribution of muscle fibre diameters prior to maturation in males was also significantly different between male and female fish matched for L_F. The results illustrate a sexual dimorphism of muscle fibre recruitment patterns in Atlantic halibut and highlight the adverse affects of sexual maturation in males on muscle growth.     

陆封型大西洋鲑发眼卵孵化及苗种培育试验

本首次报道了陆封型大西洋鲑发眼卵孵化技术，孵化水温3－11℃，积温达到140－221度日破膜孵出稚鱼，孵化率北京房山87．6％，黑龙江渤海81．9％，经21－28d胚后发育上浮平游开食。同时介绍了苗种培育技术和管理方法。     

Duration and method of fixation affects the sensitivity of a digoxygenin-labelled DNA probe in detecting Kudoa thyrsites in Atlantic salmon skeletal muscle

The effect of fixative and duration of fixation on the sensitivity of a non-radioactive in situ hybridisation (ISH) protocol to detect Kudoa thyrsites small subunit ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was investigated. Strong ISH reactions were detected in 5-μm sections of paraffin-embedded Atlantic salmon muscle after fixation for 1 day in Davidson's solution (DS). Reactions were weak following 3 or 5 days fixation and absent after 17 or 28 days fixation. Strong ISH reactions were observed after 1, 3 or 5 days fixation in neutral buffered formalin (NBF). The reactions were weak after 17 days and weak to nonexistent after 28 days of fixation. Reactions were consistently strong after fixation in 95% ethanol for up to 28 days. Some mature spores reacted weakly or not at all by ISH. Parasite DNA was weakly amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from paraffin-embedded muscle after 1 day of fixation in DS but not after fixation for 3, 5, 17 or 28 days. Amplified DNA was detected after fixation in NBF for 1, 3 and 5 days, but not after 17 or 28 days. In contrast, PCR consistently amplified DNA from paraffin-embedded, ethanol-fixed muscle. Caution should be used in the choice of fixative and duration of fixation when preserving Atlantic salmon tissues for molecular diagnosis of K. thyrsites.     

Is there lipostatic regulation of feed intake in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L.?

High‐energy feeds, with increased fat concentrations, are often used in salmon farming to improve feed:gain ratio. However, fish are thought to regulate ingestion to meet their energy and nutrient intake requirements. Further, feeds with excessive fat content will lead to increased adiposity, which is thought to exert a negative feedback on feed intake via lipostatic regulation mechanisms. A test of the lipostatic model of feed intake regulation was carried out on juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. (c. 165 g) in which body fat content (5.6% and 9.4% body fat) had been manipulated by feeding feeds with different fat concentrations. Thereafter, the fish were offered the high‐ and low‐fat feeds (15.6% and 26.5% dietary fat content) simultaneously, and our hypothesis was that feed preference and intake would reflect the state of fat storage. Thus, we predicted that, when given a choice of feeds, the lean fish would eat more, and that the body fat status of the groups would converge over time. The results indicated a general preference for the leaner feed irrespective of adiposity level, but leaner fish consumed more feed, grew faster and deposited more body fat than their fatter counterparts. Over time, body compositions converged among treatments, and differences in feed intake ablated. These findings seem to provide supportive evidence for a lipostatic regulation of feed intake in fish.     

Dietary inclusion of crystalline D- and L-methionine: effects on growth, feed and protein utilization, and digestibility in small and large Atlantic salmon (Salmon salar L.)

Use of crystalline methionine to optimize amino acid profiles in feeds for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) was studied in three experiments. A basic experimental diet with 25% of dietary protein from marine origin and the remaining 75% from soya protein concentrate was used either with or without supplementation of L ‐methionine, D ‐methionine or DL ‐methionine. A fishmeal‐based diet was used as control. In experiment 1, growth performance of 100 g salmon in seawater was improved by supplementation with the different methionine products. Growth performance was, however, inferior to that of fish fed the control. Feed conversion ratios (FCR) exhibited similar trends to specific growth rate (SGR) with methionine supplementation, but again not as the control. Protein retention, measured as productive protein value (PPV), was significantly better in the control and D ‐methionine groups as compared with either L ‐methionine or the nonsupplemented group. These trends were confirmed in experiment 2, using fish of the same size, where an absorption and digestibility study of D ‐ and L ‐methionine clearly indicated that D ‐methionine was absorbed as well as L ‐methionine. Results indicated that racemization of D ‐ into L ‐methionine occurs in liver and kidney in Atlantic salmon. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in liver was significantly affected by dietary treatment and there was a good correlation with growth and feed utilization data. In experiment 3, a growth study with large salmon (1 kg) was performed using increasing supplementation of DL ‐methionine to the basic diet. Results indicated a methionine requirement for maximum growth of 9.2 g kg^–1 feed dry matter (DM) kg^–1 growth. This is slightly higher than that reported in the literature. The present study clearly shows that optimizing the amino acid profile by inclusion of a single crystalline amino acid (crystalline methionine) does not give the same protein utilization as that of a diet in which the amino acids are mainly protein bound. D ‐methionine was found to result in better protein utilization than L ‐methionine when measured as PPV.