Growth performance and growth regulatory pathways were examined in juvenile gilthead sea bream fed diets containing largely plant-based ingredients. Four isonitrogenous and isolipidic extruded diets with a low level (20%) of fish meal inclusion were formulated with graded levels of a vegetable oil mixture (17:58:25 of rapeseed: linseed: palm oils) replacing fish oil at 33, 66 and 100% (33VO, 66VO and VO diets). All diets were supplemented with lysine (0.55%) and contained soy lecithin (1%). Daily growth coefficients and feed efficiency over the course of an 11-week trial were almost identical in fish fed the FO, 33VO and 66VO diets. The VO diet reduced feed intake and growth without significant effects in proximate whole body composition, nitrogen or energy retentions. The highest concentration of plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) was found in fish fed the 33VO diet. The lowest concentration was attained in fish fed the VO diet, whereas intermediate values were found in fish fed FO and 66VO diets. An opposite trend was found for circulating levels of growth hormone (GH), probably as a result of a reduced negative feedback inhibition from circulating IGF-I. Hepatic expression of IGF-I and GH receptor type I (GHR-I) was regulated in concert and mRNA levels paralleled plasma levels of IGF-I. Hepatic IGF-II and GHR-II were expressed in a more constitutive manner and no changes at the mRNA level were detected. In the skeletal muscle, IGF-I and GHR-I mRNAs did not vary significantly among groups. By contrast, IGF-II mRNA was up-regulated in fish fed the control diet, whereas the highest amount of GHR-II mRNA was attained in fish fed the 66VO diet. All together, these results suggest different growth compensatory mechanisms mediated by IGF-II and GHR-II at the local tissue level. These new insights prompted us to propose that practical diets low in marine ingredients can be used over the productive cycle of gilthead sea bream when essential fatty acids are supplied above the requirement levels.

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EOM regeneration in adult zebrafish occurs by dedifferentiation of residual myocytes involving a muscle-to-mesenchyme transition. A mechanistic understanding of myocyte reprogramming may facilitate novel approaches to the development of molecular tools for targeted therapeutic regeneration in skeletal muscle disorders and beyond.

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The aim of the study was to determine whether changes in the tissue fatty acid (FA) profile follows a simple test dilution model after changing the dietary oil sources in gilthead sea bream. A 14-month trial was conducted with juvenile fish of 18 g initial body weight fed either a fish oil-based diet (FO diet) or vegetable oils replacing 33% (33VO) and 66% (66VO) of fish oil. The trial included 3 months feeding a fish oil finishing diet to follow the restoration of the FA profile with the FO diet. Fish oil replacement with/without a finishing phase of fish oil re-feeding did not affect growth and all groups reached 520-531 g body weight. Changes in body composition with weight gain did not modify the FA profile of fish continuously fed FO, 33VO or 66VO diets. Increased amounts of oleic acid (18:1n−9), linoleic acid (18:2n−6) and linolenic acid (18:3n−3), in combination with reduced proportions of n−3 long chain polyunsaturated FAs, were found with the partial replacement of fish oil. Hence, multivariate component analysis highlighted a gradient of fish oil load determined by the total intake of fish oil over the entire production cycle. The simple dilution model was a good descriptor of these tissue FA changes, and excellent correlations between observed and predicted values were found at the end of finishing period in fish grow out with either 33VO or 66VO diets.

The time courses of liver GH/IGF axis and selected stress markers were analyzed in juvenile gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) sampled at zero time and at fixed intervals (1.5, 3, 6, 24, 72 and 120 h) after acute confinement (120 kg/m(3)). Fish remained unfed throughout the course of the confinement study, and the fasting-induced increases in plasma growth hormone (GH) levels were partially masked by the GH-stress inhibitory tone. Hepatic mRNA levels of growth hormone receptor-I (GHR-I) were not significantly altered by confinement, but a persistent 2-fold decrease in GHR-II transcripts was found at 24 and 120 h. A consistent decrease in circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) was also found through most of the experimental period, and the down-regulated expression of GHR-II was positively correlated with changes in hepatic IGF-I and IGF-II transcripts. This stress-specific response was concurrent with plasma increases in cortisol and glucose levels, reflecting the cortisol peak (60-70 ng/mL), the intensity and duration of the stressor when data found in the literature were compared. Adaptive responses against oxidative damage were also found, and a rapid enhanced expression was reported in the liver tissue for mitochondrial heat-shock proteins (glucose regulated protein 75). At the same time, the down-regulated expression of proinflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-alpha) and detoxifying enzymes (cytochrome P450 1A1) might dictate the hepatic depletion of potential sources of reactive oxygen species. These results provide suitable evidence for a functional partitioning of hepatic GHRs under states of reduced IGF production and changing cellular environment resulting from acute confinement.