Ontogenetic development of the digestive system in golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus, Linnaeus 1758) larvae was histologically and enzymatically studied from hatch to 32 day post-hatch (DPH). The development of digestive system in golden pompano can be divided into three phases: phase I starting from hatching and ending at the onset of exogenous feeding; phase II starting from first feeding (3 DPH) and finishing at the formation of gastric glands; and phase III starting from the appearance of gastric glands on 15 DPH and continuing onward. The specific activities of trypsin, amylase, and lipase increased sharply from the onset of first feeding to 5-7 DPH, followed by irregular fluctuations. Toward the end of this study, the specific activities of trypsin and amylase showed a declining trend, while the lipase activity remained at similar levels as it was at 5 DPH. The specific activity of pepsin was first detected on 15 DPH and increased with fish age. The dynamics of digestive enzymes corresponded to the structural development of the digestive system. The enzyme activities tend to be stable after the formation of the gastric glands in fish stomach on 15 DPH. The composition of digestive enzymes in larval pompano indicates that fish are able to digest protein, lipid and carbohydrate at early developmental stages. Weaning of larval pompano is recommended from 15 DPH onward. Results of the present study lead to a better understanding of the ontogeny of golden pompano during the larval stage and provide a guide to feeding and weaning of this economically important fish in hatcheries.

Golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus), a marine fish in the Carangidae family, has a wide geographical distribution and adapts to severe environmental rigours. It is also an economically valuable aquaculture fish. To understand the genetic mechanism of adaption to environmental rigours and improve the production in aquaculture, we assembled its genome. By combination of Illumina and Pacbio reads, the obtained genome sequence is 647.5 Mb with the contig N50 of 1.80 Mb and the scaffold N50 of 5.05 Mb. The assembly covers 98.9% of the estimated genome size (655 Mb). Based on Hi-C data, 99.4% of the assembled bases are anchored into 24 pseudo-chromosomes. The annotation includes 21,915 protein-coding genes, in which 95.7% of 2,586 BUSCO vertebrate conserved genes are complete. This genome is expected to contribute to the comparative analysis of the Carangidae family.

The nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) regulate the transcription of elongases of very long-chain fatty acids (Elovl), which are involved in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biosynthesis in mammals. In the present study, we first characterized the function of Elovl5 elongase in Trachinotus ovatus. The functional study showed that ToElovl5 displayed high elongation activity toward C18 and C20 PUFA. To investigate whether PPARαb was a regulator of Elovl5, we also reported the sequence of T. ovatus PPARαb (ToPPARαb). The open reading frame (ORF) sequence encoded 469 amino acids possessing four typical characteristic domains, including an N-terminal hypervariable region, a DNA-binding domain (DBD), a flexible hinge domain and a ligand-binding domain (LBD). Thirdly, promoter activity experiments showed that the region from PGL3-basic-Elovl5-5 (-146 bp to +459 bp) was defined as the core promoter by progressive deletion mutation of Elovl5. Moreover, PPARαb overexpression led to a clear time-dependent enhancement of ToElovl5 promoter expression in HEK 293T cells. Fourth, the agonist of PPARαb prominently increased PPARαb and Elovl5 expression, while PPARαb depletion by RNAi or an inhibitor was correlated with a significant reduction of Elovl5 transcription in T. ovatus caudal fin cells (TOCF). In conclusion, the present study provides the first evidence of the positive regulation of Elovl5 transcription by PPARαb and contributes to a better understanding of the transcriptional mechanism of PPARαb in fish.

No abstract

No abstract

Jaw malformations of hatchery reared golden pompano Trachinotus ovatus larvae were studied from 1 day post hatch (DPH) to 31 DPH. The severity of jaw deformities was classified into three levels where '0' represents normal jaw; '1' is intermediate jaw malformation; and '2' is severe jaw malformation. The severe jaw malformations of golden pompano larvae were clearly observed on 3 DPH. Starting from 3 DPH, both intermediate and severe jaw malformations were observed and the total incidence of jaw malformations ranged from 9.6% to 46.6%. The highest severe jaw malformation occurred on 5 DPH, and 25% larvae exhibited serve jaw malformation. On 11 DPH, jaw malformations reached the peak with 46.6% fish exhibiting jaw malformations of either category 1 or 2. On 26 DPH, the percentage of intermediate jaw malformation reached the peak value (36.4%). This was the first study reporting jaw malformation of golden pompano larvae, and the result can be used as a reference point for future research on the control of jaw malformation in golden pompano.

No abstract

The osteological ontogeny and the incidence of deformities occurred in vertebral column and caudal complex were studied from 1 day post hatch (DPH) to 31 DPH in Trachinotus ovatus. Results indicate that the development of both caudal complex and vertebral column initiated between 7 DPH and 9 DPH along with the calcification of haemal arches and neural arches, and occurrence of caudal elements. The last element of caudal complex, uroneural, appeared on 18 DPH. A high number of malformations in the vertebral column and caudal complex were detected in this study. More than 33% experimental fish exhibited at least one type of malformation. Results from this study provide the first reference on the osteological ontogeny and malformation of golden pompano. Such information can be applied to the quality control for fingerling production in golden pompano.