Gene Expression and Diet
Schroeter, J.C. et al. "Targeted gene expression panels and microbiota analysis provide insight into the effects of alternative production diet formulations on channel catfish nutritional physiology." Aquaculture (2018)
Objective: determine the effects of alternatively sourced dietary ingredients on production indices, gut health, changes in gut microbiota and genes involved in appetite regulation, growth, metabolism and intestinal inflammation
Utilization of Standard BioTools™ products: • Biomark™ HD system
• 48.48 Dynamic Array™ IFCs for Gene Expression
• Access Array™
• LP 48.48 IFCsConclusions: • Feed conversion rate was affected by diet
• The gene expression panel used can help determine mechanisms behind feed conversion ratio (FCR) change and predict longer-term effects of different diets than this study allowed
• Gut microbiome data can be used to influence future dietary studies
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CATFISH CASE STUDY
Objective: The objective of this study was to measure gene expression levels of Hemocyte immune response genes when exposed to White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Fusarium solani (fungal) in order to understand the molecular mechanisms driving shrimp-pathogen interactions to develop strategies to control disease outbreaks in shrimp production systems with L. vannamei. Utilization of Standard BioTools products: Biomark SystemNanoFlex 4-IFC Controller96.96 dynamic arraysReal-Time PCR Analysis Software Conclusions: Genes that were monitored showed up regulation and down regulation over the time course study. Results reported can serve as immunomarkers for mortality events and could help reduce the loss in shrimp production systems
Results and conclusions
Methods
• Catfish were fed four different diets similar to diets in common feeds
Gene expression:
• RNA was extracted from multiple tissues
• 40 gene target panel used to observe appetite, growth, metabolism and inflammatory response
• Data collected on Biomark HD using 48.48 GE IFC
Farms selected:
• RNA extracted from whole intestines
• Access Array system used to create 16s rRNA library for sequencing
Background
• Culturing channel catfish requires nutritionally complete diets for maximal growth and feed efficiency
• Due to cost and availability, alternative feeds have been produced
• Many components of alternative feeds introduce high fiber content and anti-nutritional factors, which can reduce nutrient uptake and negatively affect production indexes
• Monitoring gene expression and gut microbiota can show how anti-nutritional factors affect fish health and growth
• Gene expression analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of different dietary formulations on gene regulation in channel catfish
• Specific genes targeted for analysis included those involved in appetite, growth, metabolism and intestinal inflammation
• These gene expression changes suggest potential alterations in appetite regulation, glucose metabolism and gut passage rate due to different dietary formulations
• The study highlights the importance of molecular analysis in understanding subtle differences in fish performance, such as feed conversion ratio, which may not be apparent through traditional growth performance metrics