Environmental enrichment during early rearing provokes epigenetic changes in the brain of a salmonid fish

Reiser, Stefan; Pohlmann, Dominique Marie; Blancke, Tina; Koops, Udo; Trautner, Jochen

doi:10.1016/j.cbd.2021.100838

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…74,[78][79][80] Furthermore, sandy substrates in tanks also play an important role as a prophylactic measure and even for the treatment of skin diseases, for example in Dover sole (Solea solea), 72,81 whereas improving plain cement bottoms by blending with silica fume (10%) improves growth, fin erosion, skin lesions and abnormal pigmentation patterns in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis). 82 Reiser et al 83 found that natural and artificial substrate enrichment can modulate epigenetic patterns in rainbow trout, affecting global DNA methylation in the brain at the egg and alevin stage, the period during development where the animals are in close physical contact with the substrate. Additionally, cobble substrates provided in concrete raceways can improve fin condition and decrease related infections of rainbow trout and cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii).…”

Section: Substratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental enrichment in fish aquaculture: A review of fundamental and practical aspects

Arechavala-López

Cabrera-Álvarez

Maia

et al. 2021

Reviews in Aquaculture

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Environmental enrichment (EE) can improve the welfare of captive fish. Its objective is to provide new sensorial and motor stimulation in order to help meet their behavioural, physiological, morphological and psychological needs, whilst reducing stress and frequency of abnormal behaviours. In fish farms, rearing environments are usually designed from a human perspective and based on economic requirements, mainly for practical reasons for the farmer, with little consideration for animal welfare. Throughout aquaculture production cycles, many farming operations can be stressful for fish, and EE may not only help them cope with these stressful events but also improve their overall welfare. In recent years, increasing interest on the effects of EE in captive fish has focussed mainly on structural enrichment. However, there are many other enrichment strategies that merit attention (e.g. sensorial, occupational, social and dietary enrichment) and which may be of interest for fish farming. Here, we review in depth the existing literature on EE and its effects on the welfare of a wide range of farmed fish species, discussing the feasibility and potential applications of different EE strategies to promote fish welfare at a commercial scale. We also present a practical framework to address the design, validation and implementation of EE by the aquaculture industry, taking in consideration the technical challenges of providing enrichment for farmed fish.

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Section: Substratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental enrichment in fish aquaculture: A review of fundamental and practical aspects

Arechavala-López

Cabrera-Álvarez

Maia

et al. 2021

Reviews in Aquaculture

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“…This confirms that EE is not a confounding factor when exploring thyroid-related molecular responses to acute EDC exposure in adult fish. However, the effects of EE on gene expression levels have been shown mainly for genes related to neurodevelopment and neuronal function in salmonids [53][54][55] and rodents (e.g., [56]) in previous studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Exposure to Human-Relevant Mixtures of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Zebrafish

Birgersson,

Odenlund,

Sturve

2024

Animals

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Fish models used for chemical exposure in toxicological studies are normally kept in barren tanks without any structural environmental enrichment. Here, we tested the combined effects of environmental enrichment and exposure to two mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in zebrafish. Firstly, we assessed whether developmental exposure to an EDC mixture (MIX G1) combined with rearing the fish in an enriched environment influenced behaviour later in life. This was evaluated using locomotion tracking one month after exposure, showing a significant interaction effect between enrichment and the MIX G1 exposure on the measured locomotion parameters. After three months, we assessed behaviour using custom-made behaviour tanks, and found that enrichment influenced swimming activity. Control fish from the enriched environment were more active than control fish from the barren environment. Secondly, we exposed adult zebrafish to a separate EDC mixture (MIX G0) after rearing them in a barren or enriched environment. Behaviour and hepatic mRNA expression for thyroid-related genes were assessed. There was a significant interaction effect between exposure and enrichment on swimming activity and an effect of environment on latency to approach the group of conspecifics, where enriched fish took more time to approach the group, possibly indicating that they were less anxious. Hepatic gene expression of a thyroid-related gene (thrb) was significantly affected by EDC exposure, while enrichment had no discernible impact on the expression of the measured genes. In conclusion, environmental enrichment is important to consider when studying the effects of EDCs in fish.

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“…In fish, numerous studies reported the impact of EE on brain development, gene expression, and behavior and learning abilities [ 7 , 9 , 17 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. While these studies indicated that EE affects gene-expression patterns, it remains challenging to interpret how these neurobiological differences may be linked to behavior because very few studies have compared genes related to pathways linked to brain activity and behavior in specific brain areas between EE vs. BE, and none have compared them in trout.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fish, a growing body of studies describes the beneficial effects of EE but to a lesser extent than in mammals (for reviews, see Corcoran [ 5 ] and Näslund and Johnsson [ 6 ]). However, EE has been shown to improve fish cognitive abilities [ 7 ], to reduce aggressive behavior [ 8 ], and to circulate stress hormones [ 9 ]. However, EE is not always beneficial.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Enrichment Triggers Brain Plasticity and Influences Blood Plasma Circulating miRNA in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Cardona

Brunet

Baranek

et al. 2022

Biology

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Physical enrichment is known to improve living conditions of fish held in farming systems and has been shown to promote behavioral plasticity in captive fish. However, the brain’s regulatory-mechanism systems underlying its behavioral effects remain poorly studied. The present study investigated the impact of a three-month exposure to an enriched environment (EE vs. barren environment, BE) on the modulation of brain function in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) juveniles. Using high-throughput RT-qPCR, we assessed mRNA genes related to brain function in several areas of the trout brain. These included markers of cerebral activity and plasticity, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, or selected neurotransmitters pathways (dopamine, glutamate, GABA, and serotonin). Overall, the fish from EE displayed a series of differentially expressed genes (neurotrophic, neurogenesis, and synaptogenesis markers) essentially localized in the telencephalon, which could underpin the beneficial effects of complexifying the environment on fish brain plasticity. In addition, EE significantly affected blood plasma c-miRNA signatures, as revealed by the upregulation of four c-miRNAs (miR-200b/c-3p, miR-203a-3p, miR-205-1a-5p, miR-218a-5p) in fish blood plasma after 185 days of EE exposure. Overall, we concluded that complexifying the environment through the addition of physical structures that stimulate and encourage fish to explore promotes the trout’s brain function in farming conditions.

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Environmental enrichment during early rearing provokes epigenetic changes in the brain of a salmonid fish

Cited by 8 publications

References 62 publications

Environmental enrichment in fish aquaculture: A review of fundamental and practical aspects

Environmental enrichment in fish aquaculture: A review of fundamental and practical aspects

Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Exposure to Human-Relevant Mixtures of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Zebrafish

Physical Enrichment Triggers Brain Plasticity and Influences Blood Plasma Circulating miRNA in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

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