Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 10900

Special Issue Editors

Department of Fisheries Science, School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: aquaculture nutrition; feed additives; intestinal microbiota; immunology; fish physiology
Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA
Interests: fish biology; fish nutrition; nutrient requirements; nutritional biochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
Interests: aquaculture nutrition; fish physiology; metabolic regulation; intestinal microbiota
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As aquaculture has continued to expand greatly in global distribution and in the yield of aquatic products, the demand for fish meal and oil has increased; however, the supply is limited, making the substitution of these dietary components with high-level vegetable oil, high-level plant protein, high-lipid and high-carbohydrate diets an imperative alternative. However, these alternative diets also damage the Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health in Aquatic Animals by inducing decreased growth performance, reduced immunity and stress tolerance, abnormal liver lipid deposition, and intestinal dysfunction, usually accompanied by dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota, lower meat quality, cellular dysfunction, etc., as well as consequent restrictions on the sustainable development of aquaculture. There is a body of evidence suggesting that dietary feed additives are an effective strategy to improve the nutrient metabolism and health of aquatic animals, whereas the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Therefore, it is necessary for aquatic nutritionists to clarify the mechanisms of diet-induced and intestinal dysfunction and metabolic disorders, and to seek suitable therapies to alleviate the harmful symptoms.

This Special Issue of Metabolites welcomes the submission of original research articles and reviews analyzing rigorously peer-reviewed studies, with scopes including but not limited to the following: 1) investigating the deep mechanisms of these diets and their relationship to liver injury and intestinal function; 2) searching for effective nutritional, endocrinological and molecular regulation strategies in nutrient metabolism and intestinal health to help solve these problems; and 3) using new detection tools and novel data analysis tools for targeted and untargeted metabonomics analysis in aquaculture nutrition and physiology.

Dr. Gang Yang
Dr. Vikas Kumar
Dr. Songlin Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metabolites is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aquatic animal nutrition
  • gut–liver axis
  • intestinal microbiome
  • inflammation
  • immunity
  • physiology
  • feed additive
  • plant extracts
  • probiotics

Published Papers (7 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 4849 KiB  
Article
Liver Injury and Metabolic Dysregulation in Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) after Ammonia Exposure
by Jiahong Zou, Peng Hu, Mengya Wang, Zhenwei Chen, Huan Wang, Xiaolong Guo, Jian Gao and Qingchao Wang
Metabolites 2023, 13(2), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13020274 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2211
Abstract
Elevated environmental ammonia leads to respiratory disorders and metabolic dysfunction in most fish species, and the majority of research has concentrated on fish behavior and gill function. Prior studies have rarely shown the molecular mechanism of the largemouth bass hepatic response to ammonia [...] Read more.
Elevated environmental ammonia leads to respiratory disorders and metabolic dysfunction in most fish species, and the majority of research has concentrated on fish behavior and gill function. Prior studies have rarely shown the molecular mechanism of the largemouth bass hepatic response to ammonia loading. In this experiment, 120 largemouth bass were exposed to total ammonia nitrogen of 0 mg/L or 13 mg/L for 3 and 7 days, respectively. Histological study indicated that ammonia exposure severely damaged fish liver structure, accompanied by increased serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase activity. RT-qPCR results showed that ammonia exposure down-regulated the expression of genes involved in glycogen metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, lipid metabolism, and urea cycle pathways, whereas it up-regulated the expression of genes involved in gluconeogenesis and glutamine synthesis pathways. Thus, ammonia was mainly converted to glutamine in the largemouth bass liver during ammonia stress, which was rarely further used for urea synthesis. Additionally, transcriptome results showed that ammonia exposure also led to the up-regulation of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway and down-regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway in the liver of largemouth bass. It is possible that the energy supply of oxidative phosphorylation in the largemouth bass liver was increased during ammonia exposure, which was mediated by the MAPK signaling pathway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2403 KiB  
Article
Effects of Carbohydrase Supplementation on Growth Performance, Intestinal Digestive Enzymes and Flora, Glucose Metabolism Enzymes, and glut2 Gene Expression of Hybrid Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀ × E. lanceolatus♂) Fed Different CHO/L Ratio Diets
by Hongyu Liu, Ling Pan, Jianfei Shen, Beiping Tan, Xiaohui Dong, Qihui Yang, Shuyan Chi and Shuang Zhang
Metabolites 2023, 13(1), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13010098 - 07 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1132
Abstract
An optimal carbohydrate-to-lipid (CHO: L) ratio facilitates fish growth and protein conservation, and carbohydrase promotes nutrient absorption. Therefore, an 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of carbohydrase supplementation on growth performance, intestinal digestive enzymes and flora, glucose metabolism enzymes and [...] Read more.
An optimal carbohydrate-to-lipid (CHO: L) ratio facilitates fish growth and protein conservation, and carbohydrase promotes nutrient absorption. Therefore, an 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of carbohydrase supplementation on growth performance, intestinal digestive enzymes and flora, glucose metabolism enzymes and glut2 gene expression in juvenile hybrid grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀× Epinephelus lanceolatus♂) fed different CHO: L ratios diets. L, M, and H represent CHO:L ratios of 0.91, 1.92 and 3.91, respectively. LE, ME, and HE represent CHO:L ratios of 0.91, 1.92, 3.91, respectively, supplemented with the same ratio of carbohydrase. Results showed that weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) reached a maximum in group M and were significantly enhanced by carbohydrase (p < 0.05). Crude lipid content decreased significantly with an increase in the dietary CHO:L ratio (p < 0.05). Significant increases in the trypsin (TRY) and amylase (AMS) activities and significant decreases in the lipase (LPS) activity were observed with increasing dietary CHO:L ratio, and the former two were significantly promoted by carbohydrase (p < 0.05). The content of liver and muscle glycogen increased significantly with the increasing dietary CHO:L ratio but decreased significantly after carbohydrase supplementation (p < 0.05). The glucokinase (GK), pyruvate kinase (PK), Phosphate 6 fructokinase-1 (PFK-1) and phosphoenolpyruvate kinase (PEPCK) activities increased significantly with increasing dietary CHO:L ratio (p < 0.05). Glut2 mRNA expression decreased significantly in liver and increased significantly in intestine with increasing dietary CHO:L ratio (p < 0.05). By linear discriminant analysis (LDA), the abundance of Alistipe was significantly higher in Group ME than in Group M. These results suggested that hybrid grouper can only moderately utilize dietary carbohydrate and lipid in diet, and a certain amount of high glycemic lipids occurred when fed with high-carbohydrate diets. By the weight gain for basis, the supplementation of carbohydrase in Group H with amylase, glycosylase, and pullulanase in a 1:1:1 ratio effectively lowered glycemic lipids, promoted the growth of grouper, digestive enzymes activities and carbohydrate metabolic enzyme, and glut2 gene expression in intestine, effectively balancing the negative effects of high-carbohydrate diet and improving the utilization of carbohydrate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1528 KiB  
Article
Glycerol Monolaurate Alleviates Oxidative Stress and Intestinal Flora Imbalance Caused by Salinity Changes for Juvenile Grouper
by Xuehe Li, Dongwenjun Zhu, Minling Mao, Jianwei Wu, Qihui Yang, Beiping Tan and Shuyan Chi
Metabolites 2022, 12(12), 1268; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12121268 - 15 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1004
Abstract
Groupers with an initial body weight of 9.10 ± 0.03 g were selected to investigate whether dietary addition of 0 (G0) and 1800 mg/kg glycerol monolaurate (GML, G1800) could alleviate the oxidative stress response and intestinal flora imbalance after 0, 6, 12, and [...] Read more.
Groupers with an initial body weight of 9.10 ± 0.03 g were selected to investigate whether dietary addition of 0 (G0) and 1800 mg/kg glycerol monolaurate (GML, G1800) could alleviate the oxidative stress response and intestinal flora imbalance after 0, 6, 12, and 24 h of salinity change in grouper. Experimental results show that the dietary addition of GML significantly reduced the liver MDA content and increased the SOD activity of grouper. The gene expression of CAT and SOD increased and then decreased with time after adding 1800 mg/kg GML, and the highest values were significantly higher than those of the control group. Salinity change had a slight effect on the top four intestinal flora composition of grouper at 0, 12, and 24 h, with changes occurring only at 6 h when Cyanobacteria replaced Actinobacteria. The addition of dietary GML slowed down the intestinal flora disorder, inhibited the colonization of harmful bacterium Vibrio, and promoted the abundance of beneficial bacterium Bacillus. In conclusion, dietary GML significantly reduced the oxidative damage caused by sudden changes in salinity, improved the antioxidant capacity, and alleviated the intestinal flora imbalance in juvenile grouper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 23463 KiB  
Article
Comparative Study of the Gut Microbiota Community between the Farmed and Wild Mastacembelus armatus (Zig-Zag Eel)
by Xiongjun Liu, Yuqin Fan, Tao Mo, Qingxiu Chen and Weiting Chen
Metabolites 2022, 12(12), 1193; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12121193 - 29 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1047
Abstract
Cultivated and wild fish of the same species may exhibit different characteristics, such as in their flavor, growth and development. In some wild fish species, reproductive functions may even be retarded when wild individuals are moved into cultivated conditions. The gut microbiota may [...] Read more.
Cultivated and wild fish of the same species may exhibit different characteristics, such as in their flavor, growth and development. In some wild fish species, reproductive functions may even be retarded when wild individuals are moved into cultivated conditions. The gut microbiota may be one of the reasons for these phenomena as they have been reported to play an important role in host growth and development, as well as in normal reproductive functioning. Here, we used Mastacembelus armatus (zig-zag eel), a freshwater fish which shows anormal reproductive function in cultivated conditions, as a model to comparatively study the diversity, structure and function of gut microbiota in cultivated and wild groups by analyzing the 16S rRNA sequence of each group’s microbiota. The results showed that Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the dominant phyla in the gut microbiota of wild (accounting for 45.8% and 20.3% of the total number of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, respectively) and farmed (accounting for 21.4% and 75.6% of the total number of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, respectively) zig-zag eel. Wild zig-zag eels (Shannon = 3.56; Chao = 583.08; Ace = 579.18) had significantly higher alpha diversity than those in cultivated populations (Shannon = 2.09; Chao = 85.45; Ace = 86.14). A significant difference in the community structure of the gut microbiota was found between wild and cultivated populations. The wild zig-zag eel showed a high abundance of functional pathways in metabolism, genetic information processing and organismal system function. These results suggested that the diversity and function of gut microbiota in zig-zag eel were correlated with their diet and habitat conditions, which indicated that the management of cultivated populations should mimic the wild diet and habitat to improve the productivity and quality of farmed zig-zag eel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

12 pages, 3171 KiB  
Article
Feeding Rainbow Trout with Different Types of Non-Starch Polysaccharides: Impacts on Serum Metabolome and Gut Microbiota
by Hang Zhou, Yu Liu, Jiongting Fan, Huajing Huang, Junming Deng and Beiping Tan
Metabolites 2022, 12(12), 1167; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12121167 - 23 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1199
Abstract
A 70-day feeding trial investigated the effects of dietary inclusion of different types of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) on gut microbiota and serum metabolome of rainbow trout. Four practical feeds (42% crude protein, 17% crude lipid) were prepared with 8% insoluble NSP (INSP, cellulose), [...] Read more.
A 70-day feeding trial investigated the effects of dietary inclusion of different types of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) on gut microbiota and serum metabolome of rainbow trout. Four practical feeds (42% crude protein, 17% crude lipid) were prepared with 8% insoluble NSP (INSP, cellulose), 16.8% soluble NSP (SNSP, composed of 1.12% β-glucan, 1.28% mannan, 4.8% arabinoxylan, and 9.6% pectin), 24.8% NSPs (8% INSP + 16.8% SNSP), or no NSPs inclusion, respectively. Dietary NSPs inclusion had no significant influence on the Shannon, Simpson, ACE, and Chao1 indices of gut microbiota but induced a significant increase in the abundance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Photobacterium kishitanii, and a decrease in Firmicutes and Alistipes finegoldii. Besides, dietary SNSP upregulated the carnitine synthesis metabolic pathway. Our data suggest that dietary NSPs are detrimental to gut microbiota homeostasis and the health of rainbow trout, and dietary SNSP exhibit a stronger ability to interfere with physiological metabolism of rainbow trout than INSP. Therefore, the physiological effects of dietary NSPs, especially SNSP, should be carefully considered when designing the commercial feed formulations of rainbow trout. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

16 pages, 1747 KiB  
Article
Effects of Plant-Derived Glycerol Monolaurate (GML) Additive on the Antioxidant Capacity, Anti-Inflammatory Ability, Muscle Nutritional Value, and Intestinal Flora of Hybrid Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus♂)
by Xuehe Li, Yuanming Yi, Jiahua Wu, Qihui Yang, Beiping Tan and Shuyan Chi
Metabolites 2022, 12(11), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12111089 - 10 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1305
Abstract
In a context where the search for plant-derived additives is a hot topic, glycerol monolaurate (GML) was chosen as our subject to study its effect on grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus♂). Seven gradient levels of GML (0, 600, 1200, [...] Read more.
In a context where the search for plant-derived additives is a hot topic, glycerol monolaurate (GML) was chosen as our subject to study its effect on grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus♂). Seven gradient levels of GML (0, 600, 1200, 1800, 2400, 3000, and 3600 mg/kg) were used for the experiment. Based on our experiments, 1800 mg/kg GML significantly increased the final body weight (FBW) and weight gain rate (WGR). GML increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA). Adding 1800 mg/kg GML also significantly increased the levels of lauric acid (C12:0) (LA), n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PFA), and the n-6 PFA-to-n-3/n-6 ratio, while significantly decreasing the levels of saturated fatty acids (SFA). Dietary supplementation with GML significantly inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory factors and reduced the occurrence of inflammation. GML improved intestinal flora and the abundance of beneficial bacteria (Bacillus, Psychrobacter, Acinetobacter, Acinetobacter, Stenotrophomonas, and Glutamicibacter). It provides a theoretical basis for the application of GML in aquafeed and greatly enhances the possibility of using GML in aquafeed. Based on the above experimental results, the optimum level of GML in grouper feed is 1800 mg/kg. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

20 pages, 3303 KiB  
Article
Different Types of Non-Starch Polysaccharides Alter the Growth, Intestinal Flora and Serum Metabolite Profile of Grass Carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella
by Yu Liu, Xinlangji Fu, Hang Zhou, Jiongting Fan, Huajing Huang, Junming Deng and Beiping Tan
Metabolites 2022, 12(10), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12101003 - 21 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1487
Abstract
Dietary non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) broadly influence fish intestinal flora and physiological metabolism, but limited information is available on grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). This study investigated the effects of different types of NSPs on the growth, nutrient metabolism status, gut microbiota, and [...] Read more.
Dietary non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) broadly influence fish intestinal flora and physiological metabolism, but limited information is available on grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). This study investigated the effects of different types of NSPs on the growth, nutrient metabolism status, gut microbiota, and serum metabolome of grass carp. Fish were fed with diets containing 4.4% insoluble NSPs (INSP), 9.24% soluble NSPs (SNSP), 13.64% NSPs (4.4% INSP + 9.24% SNSP, NSP) and non NSPs (FM), respectively, for 9 weeks. Results showed that dietary SNSP decreased protein efficiency ratio and serum protein content, but increased feed coefficient ratio, feed intake, plasma blood urea nitrogen content, and plasma aspartate aminotransferase activity (AST); conversely, dietary INSP decreased plasma AST activity. Dietary INSP and SNSP increased serum free cholesterol content. Dietary NSPs altered the abundance of dominant bacteria and serum metabolite profiles. The differential metabolites between groups were significantly enriched in amino acid synthesis and metabolic pathways. In conclusion, dietary INSP exhibited a growth-promoting effect compared to SNSP. Dietary INSP is beneficial for improving nutrient metabolism and intestinal health. Moreover, dietary NSPs may regulate the physiological metabolism and feeding behavior of grass carp by altering amino acid synthesis and metabolism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Metabolism and Intestinal Health Studies in Aquatic Animals)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop