Gamma-aminobutyric acid regulates glucose homeostasis and enhances the hepatopancreas health of juvenile Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) under fasting stress

SERIAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT WITH STANDARDIZED EXTERNAL SCORING AND HEMOLYMPH EVALUATION IN THE AMERICAN HORSESHOE CRAB (LIMULUS POLYPHEMUS)

Serial health assessment of a managed population of American horseshoe crabs (HSC; Limulus polyphemus) was performed. Twenty HSC were examined once a month for 7 mon; this included a physical exam with a standardized scoring sheet, HR, morphometrics, and hemolymph evaluation with hemocyte count, copper concentration, and biochemistry panel. The HSC in this population had varying levels of external lesions at enrollment. All HSC were clinically and behaviorally stable over the study period, with no apparent differences in evaluated parameters in relation to degree of external lesions. Although the standardized scoring sheet was found to be helpful to complete the evaluation, the qualitative criteria potentially masks clinically important gradations in some parameters. HR ranged from 4 to 60 bpm, with high intra- and interindividual variability. Increased prosomal widths (PW) were found to be correlated with lower HR. Plots of weight (W) in grams divided by PW in centimeters are roughly linear, and W:PW shows promise as a method of body condition evaluation in a hard-shelled animal. Serial collection of ∼2 ml of hemolymph led to no appreciable clinical decline in any animal. Total protein levels were stable and higher than previously reported for HSC in managed care. Glucose values were stable throughout the study period, which is interpreted as reflecting adequate nutritional intake in the study animals. Further studies are needed to determine the clinical utility of standardized vertebrate biochemistry panels in invertebrate species.

Temporal and Spatial Signatures of Scylla paramamosain Transcriptome Reveal Mechanistic Insights into Endogenous Ovarian Maturation under Risk of Starvation

Variability in food availability leads to condition-dependent investments in reproduction. This study is aimed at understanding the metabolic response and regulatory mechanism of female Scylla paramamosain in response to starvation in a temporal- and tissue-specific manner. The mud crabs were starved for 7 (control), 14, 28, and 40 days for histological and biochemical analysis in the hepatopancreas, ovary, and serum, as well as for RNA sequencing on the hepatopancreas and ovary. We further highlighted candidate gene modules highly linked to physiological traits. Collectively, our observations suggested that starvation triggered endogenous ovarian maturation at the expense of hepatopancreas mass, with both metabolic adjustments to optimize energy and fatty acid supply from hepatopancreas to ovary in the early phase, followed by the activation of autophagy-related pathways in both organs over prolonged starvation. These specific adaptive responses might be considered efficient strategies to stimulate ovarian maturation of Scylla paramamosain under fasting stress, which improves the nutritional value of female mud crabs and other economically important crustaceans.

Adverse effects of thiamethoxam on the behavior, biochemical responses, hepatopancreas health, transcriptome and intestinal flora of juvenile Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)

Frequent detection of thiamethoxam in global surface waters has provoked great concern in environmental safety, as thiamethoxam exhibits high toxicity to aquatic arthropods. However, little systematic investigation has been conducted on the chronic toxicity of thiamethoxam to crustaceans. This study exposed Eriocheir sinensis to thiamethoxam (0, 0.5, 5 and 50 μg/L) in water for 28 days. No significant difference in mortality was observed among all groups. A high concentration of thiamethoxam (50 μg/L) impaired the righting ability of E. sinensis. Thiamethoxam significantly increased antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase) and malondialdehyde levels. Simultaneously, detoxification enzyme activities (aminopyrine N-demethylase, erythromycin N-demethylase and glutathione-S-transferase) increased under chronic thiamethoxam stress. In addition, thiamethoxam caused immune and hepatopancreas damage. Moreover, thiamethoxam induced intestinal flora dysbiosis by altering the microbiome structure. The reduced complexity of the gut microbiota further illustrated that thiamethoxam could disrupt the stability of the microbiota ecological network. The transcriptomic results revealed that the number of downregulated DEGs increased in a dose-dependent manner, and most downregulated DEGs were enriched in energy metabolism-related pathways. These results indicate that thiamethoxam can adversely affect the crab behavior, biochemistry, intestinal microflora and transcriptomic responses.

Dietary melatonin positively impacts the immune system of crayfish, Cherax destructor, as revealed by comparative proteomics analysis

Melatonin, an indoleamine with various biological activities, is being used increasingly in the aquaculture industry for its broad immune effects. Cherax destructor is an emerging economically cultured crayfish that faces many problems in the breeding process. Previous work found that dietary melatonin has positive effects on the growth and immunity of C. destructor, but the specific mechanism involved remained unclear. In this study, proteomics was used to determine the mechanism of action of melatonin in C. destructor. Results showed that dietary melatonin resulted in decreased levels of hydrogen peroxide, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase, but increased levels of glutathione peroxidase, acid phosphatase, and glutathione S-transferases. In total, 608 proteins were differentially expressed (418 upregulated and 190 downregulated), and were enriched in three main categories: innate immunity (B cell receptor signaling pathway and natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity), glucose metabolism (pentose phosphate pathway, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, and propionate metabolism), and amino acid metabolism (valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, and cysteine and methionine metabolism). In addition, dietary melatonin was also involved in the regulation of the mTOR signaling pathway, and upregulated the expression of genes encoding key factors, such as Ras-related GTP-binding protein A/B, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein, and p70 ribosomal S6 kinase. Overall, this study demonstrates the role of melatonin in the physiological regulation of C. destructor, laying the foundation for the development of melatonin as a feed additive in the aquaculture of this species.

Starvation induces hepatopancreas atrophy in Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) by inhibiting angiogenesis

BACKGROUND

The hepatopancreas of crustaceans serves as a significant organ for both the synthesis and secretion of digestive enzymes, as well as energy storage. In the event of food shortage, the hepatopancreas can provide energy for survival. To investigate the potential regulatory mechanisms of the hepatopancreas in response to starvation in Eriocheir Sinensis, transcriptome analysis, histological study and qRT-PCR were performed.

RESULTS

The results showed that starvation caused a decrease in the hepatopancreas index of E. sinensis, which had certain effects on the tissue structure, metabolism and angiogenesis in the hepatopancreas. In addition, WGCNA and linear regression analysis showed that the genes significantly related to the hepatopancreas index were mainly enriched in the angiogenesis pathway, in which AKT signaling played an important role. Starvation may inhibit AKT signaling pathway by reducing the expression of TGFBI, HSP27, HHEX, and EsPVF1, thereby hindering angiogenesis, promoting apoptosis, and leading to hepatopancreas atrophy.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that AKT plays an important role in the angiogenesis pathway and apoptosis of the starvation induced hepatopancreas index reduction, which is beneficial to further understand the effect of starvation stress on hepatopancreas of Chinese mitten crab.

Effects of Clostridium butyricum on Intestinal Microflora and Metabolism of Eriocheir sinensis

Clostridium butyricum, a new probiotic in recent years, can produce butyric acid and short-chain fatty acids. It has the characteristics of strong acid and alkali resistance, high temperature resistance, and strong resistance to most antibiotics, and has more advantages than other probiotics. However, the action mechanism of C. butyricum on Eriocheir sinensis is still unclear and needs further study. In this study, when C. butyricum was added to the basic diet, the number of living bacteria was 0, 1 × 106 and 1 × 108 CFU/g, respectively. The E. sinensis were randomly divided into three groups: (blank control group, experimental group 1 (1 × 106 CFU/g) and experimental group 2 (1 × 108 CFU/g)). They were fed an experimental diet for 28 days. The effects of C. butyricum on E. sinensis were studied by detecting the differences in non-specific immune indexes, intestinal microflora, and metabolites between serum and hepatopancreas. The results showed that C. butyricum could improve the antioxidant ability of E. sinensis serum and hepatopancreas, protect intestinal tissues, and promote the absorption of nutrients. At the same time, it can enhance the microbial diversity and richness of the E. sinensis gut flora. LC-MS metabolomics was used to detect the metabolism of intestinal flora. It was found that C. butyricum could up-regulate lysophosphatidylcholine in the intestine. Through the KEGG enrichment pathway, it was found that significantly different metabolites were mainly concentrated in six metabolic pathways. The purine metabolism and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism pathways showed a downward trend, indicating that the addition of C. butyricum to feed could reduce purine metabolism, promote the water-salt balance of the organism's cells, and reduce inflammation. In this study, it was found that the addition of certain concentrations of C. butyricum to feed could improve the antioxidant ability of E. sinensis, improve the intestinal flora environment, and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. This can promote the body's metabolism, which is more conducive to its growth.

Interactive Effect of Dietary Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and Water Temperature on Growth Performance, Blood Plasma Indices, Heat Shock Proteins and GABAergic Gene Expression in Juvenile Olive Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of living organisms and has the ability to reduce the magnitude of stress in humans and animals. In this study, we evaluated the supplemental effects of GABA on normal and high water temperature based on growth, blood plasma composition as well as heat shock proteins and GABA-related gene expression in juvenile olive flounder. For this, a 2 × 2 factorial design of experiment was employed to investigate the dietary effects of GABA at 0 mg/kg of diet (GABA0 diet) and 200 mg/kg of diet (GABA200 diet) in water temperatures of 20 ± 1 °C (normal temperature) and 27 ± 1 °C (high temperature) for 28 days. A total of 180 fish with an average initial weight of 40.1 ± 0.4 g (mean ± SD) were distributed into 12 tanks, of which, each tank contained 15 fish based on the 4 dietary treatment groups in triplicate. At the end of the feeding trial, the results demonstrated that both temperature and GABA had significant effects on the growth performance of the fish. However, fish fed the GABA200 diet had a significantly higher final body weight, weight gain and specific growth rate as well as a significantly lower feed conversion ratio than the fish fed the GABA0 diet at the high water temperature. A significant interactive effect of water temperature and GABA was observed on the growth performance of olive flounder based on the two-way analysis of variance. The plasma GABA levels in fish were increased in a dose-dependent manner at normal or high water temperatures, whereas cortisol and glucose levels were decreased in fish fed GABA-supplemented diets under temperature stress. The GABA-related mRNA expression in the brains of the fish such as GABA type A receptor-associated protein (Gabarap), GABA type B receptor 1 (Gabbr1) and glutamate decarboxylase 1 (Gad1) were not significantly affected by GABA-supplemented diets under normal or temperature stressed conditions. On the other hand, the mRNA expression of heat shock proteins (hsp) in the livers of the fish, such as hsp70 and hsp90, were unchanged in fish fed the GABA diets compared to the control diet at the high water temperature. Collectively, the present study showed that dietary supplementation with GABA could enhance growth performance, and improve the feed utilization, plasma biochemical parameters and heat shock proteins and GABA-related gene expression under the stress of high water temperatures in juvenile olive flounder.

Metabolites, gene expression, and gut microbiota profiles suggest the putative mechanisms via which dietary creatine increases the serum taurine and g-ABA contents in Megalobrama amblycephala

A 90-day experiment was conducted to explore the effects of creatine on growth performance, liver health status, metabolites, and gut microbiota in Megalobrama amblycephala. There were 6 treatments as follows: control (CD, 29.41% carbohydrates), high carbohydrate (HCD, 38.14% carbohydrates), betaine (BET, 1.2% betaine + 39.76% carbohydrates), creatine 1 (CRE1, 0.5% creatine + 1.2% betaine + 39.29% carbohydrates), creatine 2 (CRE2, 1% creatine + 1.2% betaine + 39.50% carbohydrates), and creatine 3 (CRE3, 2% creatine + 1.2% betaine + 39.44% carbohydrates). The results showed that supplementing creatine and betaine together reduced the feed conversion ratio significantly (P < 0.05, compared to CD and HCD) and improved liver health (compared to HCD). Compared with the BET group, dietary creatine significantly increased the abundances of Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, ZOR0006, and Bacteroides and decreased the abundances of Proteobacteria, Fusobacteriota, Vibrio, Crenobacter, and Shewanella in the CRE1 group. Dietary creatine increased the content of taurine, arginine, ornithine, γ-aminobutyric acid (g-ABA), and creatine (CRE1 vs. BET group) and the expression of creatine kinase (ck), sulfinoalanine decarboxylase (csad), guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase (gamt), glycine amidinotransferase (gatm), agmatinase (agmat), diamine oxidase1 (aoc1), and glutamate decarboxylase (gad) in the CRE1 group. Overall, these results suggested that dietary supplementation of creatine (0.5-2%) did not affect the growth performance, but it altered the gut microbial composition at the phylum and genus levels, which might be beneficial to the gut health of M. amblycephala; dietary creatine also increased the serum content of taurine by enhancing the expressions of ck and csad and increased the serum content of g-ABA by enhancing the arginine content and the expressions of gatm, agmat, gad, and aoc1.

Effects of dietary Ginkgo biloba leaf extract on growth performance, immunity and environmental stress tolerance of Penaeus vannamei

Ginkgo biloba leaf extract (GBE) has been extensively used in the treatment of diseases due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. In aquaculture, GBE is widely used as a feed additive, which is important to enhance the immunity of aquatic animals. The current study evaluated the effects of adding GBE to the diet of Penaeus vannamei (P. vannamei) under intensive aquaculture. The GBE0 (control group), GBE1, GBE2, and GBE4 groups were fed a commercial feed supplemented with 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 g/kg GBE for 21 days, respectively. The results showed that dietary GBE could alleviate hepatopancreas tissue damage and improve the survival rate of shrimp, and dietary 2 g/kg GBE could significantly increase the total hemocyte count (THC), the hemocyanin content, the antioxidant gene's expression, and the activity of their encoded enzymes in P. vannamei. Furthermore, transcriptome data revealed that immunity-related genes were upregulated in the GBE2 group compared with the GBE0 group after 21 days of culture. Drug metabolism-cytochrome P450, sphingolipid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, fat digestion and protein digestion and absorption pathways were significantly enriched, according to KEGG results. Surprisingly, all of the above KEGG-enriched pathways were significantly upregulated. These findings demonstrated that supplementing P. vannamei with 2 g/kg GBE improved its environmental adaptability by improving immunity, lipid metabolism, and detoxification. In this study, a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of dietary GBE on the intensive aquaculture of P. vannamei was conducted to provide a reference for the healthy culture of P. vannamei.