Acute stress response on Atlantic salmon: a time-course study of the effects on plasma metabolites, mucus cortisol levels, and head kidney transcriptome profile

Evaluation of stress in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) using different biological matrices

Atlantic salmon were subjected to an acute crowding scenario, and their subsequent stress responses were observed under three distinct swimming speed/water flow (WF) conditions: 0.5, 1, and 1.5 body lengths per second (BL/s). Feces, dermal mucus, and plasma were collected for analysis at 1, 6, and 24 h (h) post-stress. Additionally, the head kidney and two regions of the brain (pituitary and POA) were collected for transcript expression analysis. Fish swimming at 0.5 BL/s exhibited higher pre-stress (baseline) cortisol levels. Across all groups and matrices, the highest cortisol/cortisol metabolites (CM) levels were observed at the 1 h post-stress sampling point. At 6 h (second sampling time point), a clear decline toward baseline levels were observe in all groups. Significant increases in mean plasma glucose levels were observed at 1 h post-stress for all groups. The mean plasma lactate levels varied based on WF treatments, with a significant increase observed at 1 h only for the 1.5 BL/s group. Additionally, significant decreases in mean plasma lactate were noted at 6 and 24 h post-stress for some groups. The mRNA abundances of the tested genes (star, cyp17a1, hsd11β2, srd5a1) increased following the stress events. These changes were not uniform across all groups and were tissue dependent. In summary, the results indicate that mucus and feces can be used as potentially less invasive matrices than blood for evaluating stress and, consequently, the welfare of Atlantic salmon in captivity.

Buspirone administration: Influence on growth, spawning, immune response, and stress in female goldfish (Carassius auratus)

The current study evaluated the impact of buspirone supplementation on the growth, physiology, stress response, spawning, and immunity in female goldfish (Carassius auratus). For this purpose, buspirone was dissolved in absolute methanol and sprayed onto the feed to create four experimental groups: B0 (control), B25 (25 mg kg-1), B50 (50 mg kg-1), and B100 (100 mg kg-1). Fish were fed their respective diets for 56 days and subjected to stress using the air exposure method at the end of the experiment. Growth performance analysis revealed that fish in the B100 group exhibited significantly higher final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, and average daily gain than the other groups (P < 0.05). Plasma stress response indicated that cortisol levels were significantly lower in the B100 group after stress exposure, accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in glucose levels. The mucus stress response also showed lower cortisol and glucose levels in the B100 group compared to the other groups. Immunological analysis revealed significant increases in total protein, albumin, complement C3 and C4, and immunoglobulin M concentrations in both plasma and mucus of the B100 group (P < 0.05). Reproductive performance showed a notable enhancement in the number of eggs, fertilization rate, hatching rate, and survival rate in the B100 group compared to other groups (P < 0.05). Buspirone at higher concentrations, positively impacted various physiological aspects of goldfish, including growth, stress, immune activity, and reproductive performance. The significant improvements observed in growth parameters, cortisol levels, immunological markers, and reproductive outcomes suggest the potential of buspirone supplementation as a beneficial strategy in aquaculture practices.

Recombinant Bacillus subtilis expressing functional peptide and its effect on blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) in two state of stress

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of recombinant Bacillus subtilis CM66-P4' (secreting P4, which related to previous research in this laboratory) on the antioxidant capacity and immune function of blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) through in vitro and in vivo experiment. The culture experiment was divided into 3 groups, including control group (CG, with no additional bacteria), original bacteria group (OBG, with 2 × 109 CFU/kg Bacillus subtilis CM66) and recombinant bacteria group (RBG, with 2 × 109 CFU/kg Bacillus subtilis CM66-P4'). After 8 weeks of feeding, a part of the fish were subjected to fishing stress, and the rest were subjected to starvation stress test. Blood samples were collected for the determination of immune and stress-related indexes. The hepatocytes were divided into control group (CG) and experiment group with P4 peptide (LTG and HTG). The cells were collected after starvation treatment and the expression of related genes was detected. The results showed as follows: compared with the CG group, the gene expressions of hepatocytic hsp60 and hsp70 in the LTG and HTG groups were significantly suppressed after 24 h starvation stress (P < 0.05). The content of MDA, the activities of AKP and ALT in OBG group were significantly changed after 30 days starvation (P < 0.05), while the indexes in RBG group had no significant change. The changes of plasma cortisol, malondialdehyde (MDA) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) in CG and OBG groups were significantly changed at 4 h after fishing stress (P < 0.05), while the indexes in RBG group was not. In conclusion, this study confirmed that Bacillus subtilis CM66-P4' has great potential in preventing adverse effects of stress on aquatic livestock.

Exploring Multifunctional Markers of Biological Age in Farmed Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata): A Transcriptomic and Epigenetic Interplay for an Improved Fish Welfare Assessment Approach

DNA methylation clocks provide information not only about chronological but also biological age, offering a high-resolution and precise understanding of age-related pathology and physiology. Attempts based on transcriptomic and epigenetic approaches arise as integrative biomarkers linking the quantification of stress responses with specific fitness traits and may help identify biological age markers, which are also considered welfare indicators. In gilthead sea bream, targeted gene expression and DNA methylation analyses in white skeletal muscle proved sirt1 as a reliable marker of age-mediated changes in energy metabolism. To complete the list of welfare auditing biomarkers, wide analyses of gene expression and DNA methylation in one- and three-year-old fish were combined. After discriminant analysis, 668 differentially expressed transcripts were matched with those containing differentially methylated (DM) regions (14,366), and 172 were overlapping. Through enrichment analyses and selection, two sets of genes were retained: 33 showing an opposite trend for DNA methylation and expression, and 57 down-regulated and hypo-methylated. The first set displayed an apparently more reproducible and reliable pattern and 10 multifunctional genes with DM CpG in regulatory regions (sirt1, smad1, ramp1, psmd2-up-regulated; col5a1, calcrl, bmp1, thrb, spred2, atp1a2-down-regulated) were deemed candidate biological age markers for improved welfare auditing in gilthead sea bream.

Investigating the biological relevance of measuring gastrointestinal cortisol metabolite levels to assess stress responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) after an acute stress

Monitoring stress levels of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is important to ensure fish welfare and optimize farm operations. Feces could be a promising matrix for assessing stress responses in fish, based on their properties of low-invasive sampling and allowing repeated sampling over time. Meanwhile, elevated levels of cortisol metabolites (CMs) in feces indicate the increases in plasma cortisol levels (PLA) after exposure to acute stress. However, the dynamics of fecal CMs following acute stress in Atlantic salmon remain unclear. In this study, a confinement stress involving chasing and crowding was conducted to investigate the responses of gastrointestinal CMs to an acute stressor in Atlantic salmon. The post-smolts, with an average weight of 155.21 g, were sampled before and at 30 min, 1.5, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 h after the onset of stress. Blood and gastrointestinal contents from the stomach, proximal intestine, and distal intestine of each fish were collected and subsequently analyzed, using competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results demonstrated that the pre-stress level of PLA was low (4.28 ± 6.13 ng/ml) and reached a peak within 30 min following stress. The levels of CMs in gastrointestinal contents from stomach (SCMs), proximal intestine (PCMs), and distal intestine (DCMs) in pre-stress group were 0.82 ± 0.50, 18.31 ± 6.14 and 16.04 ± 6.69 ng/g, respectively. Gastrointestinal CMs increased significantly within 30 min and the peak levels of SCMs (3.51 ± 3.75 ng/g), PCMs (68.19 ± 23.71 ng/g) and DCMs (65.67 ± 23.37 ng/g) were found at 1.5 h post-stress. The significant increases in PCMs and DCMs post-stress validate the biological relevance of measuring intestinal CMs for assessing acute stress responses in Atlantic salmon. No significant difference was noted between PCMs and DCMs across all samples, suggesting that intestinal contents can serve as a suitable matrix compared with feces when measuring the responses of CMs to acute stress. The time lag between the peak of PLA levels and their reflection in the intestinal contents exceeded 1 h, indicating that using intestinal contents as a matrix to assess stress levels in fish can extend and delay the sampling window. This study highlights valuable guidance for determining the optimal times to utilize intestinal contents for measuring stress responses, providing further insights into the dynamics of fecal CM following acute stress.

Indexing serum and mucous biochemical parameters of endangered Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis with implications for health assessment

The Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) is a critically endangered aquatic fish. Health monitoring and welfare assessments are critical for the conservation of Chinese sturgeon. In this study, biochemical parameters of serum and skin mucus in Chinese sturgeon were examined to evaluate the potential biomarkers. Serum and mucous samples were obtained from Chinese sturgeon, and the levels of total protein (TP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), lactic acid (LD), acid phosphatase (ACP), lysozyme (LYZ), glucose (GLU), and cortisol were determined. The concentrations of ALT, AST, cortisol, and LYZ were significantly higher in the mucous group than those in the serum group (p < 0.05). In addition, the concentrations of ALP, ACP, LD, LDH, CK, and TP were significantly higher level in the serum group than those in the mucous group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the correlations between serum and mucous biochemical parameters were established. Statistical analysis showed a positive correlation between serum and skin mucous markers (ACP, cortisol, and LYZ). AST versus ALT in serum and mucus showed a significant positive correlation (p < 0.01). A significant positive correlation was found between cortisol and CK in mucus (p < 0.01). Moreover, LD versus LDH in serum showed a significant but weak positive correlation (p < 0.01). Principal component analysis revealed a complete separation between the serum and mucous groups, with the biomarkers that contributed the most being ALP, TP, ALT, and AST. This study provides baseline data and reference intervals for serum and mucous biochemical parameters in presumably healthy Chinese sturgeons. The current study has important implications for the development of conservation strategies and the conservation status of critically endangered species.

Non-concordant epigenetic and transcriptional responses to acute thermal stress in western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

Climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of extreme temperatures. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability to cope with acute thermal stress is key for predicting species' responses to extreme temperature events. While many studies have focused on the individual roles of gene expression, post-transcriptional processes and epigenetic modifications in response to acute thermal stress, the relative contribution of these molecular mechanisms remains unclear. The wide range of thermal limits of western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) provides an opportunity to explore this interplay. Here, we quantified changes in gene expression, alternative splicing, DNA methylation and microRNA (miRNA) expression in muscle tissue dissected from mosquitofish immediately after reaching high (CTmax) or low thermal limit (CTmin). Although the numbers of genes showing expression and splicing changes in response to acute temperature stress were small, we found a possibly larger and non-redundant role of splicing compared to gene expression, with more genes being differentially spliced (DSGs) than differentially expressed (DEGs), and little overlap between DSGs and DEGs. We also identified a small proportion of CpGs showing significant methylation change (i.e. differentially methylated cytosines, DMCs) in fish at thermal limits; however, there was no overlap between DEGs and genes annotated with DMCs in both CTmax and CTmin experiments. The weak interplay between epigenetic modifications and gene expression was further supported by our discoveries of no differentially expressed miRNAs. These findings provide novel insights into the relative role of different molecular mechanisms underlying immediate responses to extreme temperatures and demonstrate non-concordant responses of epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms to acute temperature stress.

Impact of stress phenotype, elevated temperature, and bacterin exposure on male Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) growth, stress, and immune biomarker gene expression

In this study, postsmolt male Atlantic salmon, previously identified as low responders (LRs) or high responders (HRs) based on poststress cortisol levels, had their head kidney and liver sampled at 12°C and 20°C before injection (time 0) and after injection (i.e., at 12- and 24-h postinjection, respectively) with either Forte Micro (a multivalent vaccine containing bacterin, to capture peak antibacterial responses) or an equal volume of PBS. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was then used to measure the expression of 15 biomarker genes in the head kidney and 12 genes in the liver at each temperature/sampling point. Target transcripts were chosen that were related to growth, stress, and innate antibacterial immune responses. Many temperature, phenotype, and injection effects were found for individual genes within these three broad categories, and multivariate statistical analyses (i.e., principal component analysis and permutational multivariate analysis of variance) were used to look for overall patterns in transcript expression. These analyses revealed that HR salmon at 20°C mounted a more robust response (P < 0.05) for the 10 head kidney immune-related transcripts when injected with Forte Micro than LR salmon. In contrast, the seven liver stress-related transcripts displayed a greater response (P = 0.057) in LR versus HR fish with Forte Micro at 12°C. Overall, although this research did find some differences between LR and HR fish, it does not provide strong (conclusive) evidence that the selection of a particular phenotype would have major implications for the health of salmon over the temperature range examined.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first paper to describe the impact of both temperature and bacterial stimulation on head kidney and liver transcript expression in Atlantic salmon characterized as LRs versus HRs. Notably, we found that HR salmon at 20°C mounted a more robust innate antibacterial immune response than LR salmon. In addition, LR fish at 12°C may (P = 0.057) exhibit higher expression of stress-related transcripts in response to vaccine injection relative to HR fish.