Assessment of nutritional supplementation in phospholipids on the reproductive performance of zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822)

Abstract

Summary The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of a tailor made purified diet (PUR) supplemented with phosphatidylcholine (PC) or phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) on the reproductive performance, gamete quality, embryo development and growth as well as skeletal malformations of the larvae in zebrafish, Danio rerio. The PUR diet was tested against a commercial diet as a negative control (CD). For each diet, one experimental group of eight adult zebrafish (three males, five females) was maintained in 3‐L tanks in a water recirculating system under continuously controlled conditions (photoperiod 14 h light: 10 h dark; water flow rate 7.3 L h−1; 28°C; pH 7.5; 700 μS). Two trials were performed to confirm the results. The CD treatment resulted in the highest final weight of the breeders (0.60 ± 0.18 g); however, the fish failed to spawn. The PC supplemented diet promoted a reasonable final weight of the breeders (0.48 ± 0.10 g) similar to the CD and with a mean hatching rate of 93.80 ± 6.9%. Nevertheless, the PC treatment induced the highest rate of skeletal malformations in progeny (82.40 ± 4.1%), which could be related to the low larval survival at 28 days post‐fertilization (dpf) (48.00 ± 11.3%). In comparison to the control groups, broodstock fed the PE diet showed the best results in sperm quality, which was revealed by higher total and progressive motility and higher velocities than sperm from males fed the CD and PUR diets. Furthermore, the PE group produced significantly higher egg diameters (1.20 ± 0.05 mm) when compared to the PUR diet (1.14 ± 0.03 mm). This study highlights the importance of phospholipids in zebrafish gamete quality, and that supplying PE in broodstock diets can improve the reproductive performance of zebrafish.

Generation of zebrafishDanio rerio(Hamilton, 1822) transgenic lines overexpressing a heat-shock mediated Gla-rich protein

“…Overall, both Grp 1 and Grp2 heat‐shock treated transgenic larvae had the same total length and presented the same skeletal calcified elements compared to the heat‐shock induced wild‐type larvae. The incidence of total deformities observed between wild‐type and Grp overexpressing larvae (Figure a) was similar and comparable to the results obtained by our group in wild‐type larvae without heat‐shock treatment (Diogo et al., ). However, Grp1 and Grp2 overexpressing larvae showed a higher percentage of deformities in abdominal and caudal fin vertebrae, respectively, suggesting that these isoforms may have distinct functions upon specific bone structures (Figures and ).…”

Fish sperm motility assessment as a tool for aquaculture research: a historical approach

“…In zebrafish, the addition of phospholipids (fatty acids linked to phosphate group) in the diet caused great results in sperm quality of breeders, which was revealed by higher total and progressive motility and higher velocities than sperm from males fed with control diet (Diogo et al . ).…”

Effect of different feeds on the growth, survival and reproductive performance of zebrafish,Danio rerio(Hamilton, 1822)

“…Another possible reason may be due to the low lipid levels in the experimental diets; the zooplankton is around 150 g kg −1 , and most commercial feeds include crude fat content of the same or slightly higher (Diogo et al . ). On the other hand, Gonzales () reported that the growth performance of zebrafish was not affected by a particular feed or feed combination.…”

“…The experimental diets may contain poor fatty acid profile than live food and commercial feeds used in other studies on zebrafish because of which overall growth and reproductive performance is poor in the present study compared to other studies on zebrafish (Gonzales ; Diogo et al . ). These authors have used 120–140 g kg −1 fat level in their experimental diets and reported higher levels of fecundity in contrast to the present findings with lower fecundity level.…”