Project description:BACKGROUND:Captive animal populations, be it for food production or conservation programmes, are often maintained at densities far beyond those in natural environments, which can have profound effects on behaviour, immune and stress levels, and ultimately welfare. How such alterations impact transcriptional responses to pathogen infection is a 'different kettle of fish' and remains poorly understood. Here, we assessed survival and gene expression profiles of infected fish reared at two different densities to elucidate potential functional genomic mechanisms for density-related differences in disease susceptibility. RESULTS:Utilising a whole-transcriptome sequencing (RNAseq) approach, we demonstrate that rearing density in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) significantly impacts susceptibility to the oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica, via altered transcriptional infection responses. Tilapia held at low densities have increased expression of genes related to stress, likely due to increased aggressive interactions. When challenged with Saprolegnia, low-density fish exhibit altered expression of inflammatory gene responses and enhanced levels of adaptive immune gene suppression compared to fish reared at higher density, resulting in significantly increased mortality rates. In addition, Saprolegnia infection substantially perturbs expression of circadian clock genes, with fish reared at low-density having higher levels of molecular clock dysregulation. CONCLUSIONS:Our results reveal the wide-scale impact of stocking density on transcriptional responses to infection and highlight the need to incorporate circadian biology into our understanding of disease dynamics in managed animals.
Project description:In fish, the sex determining mechanisms can broadly be classified as genotypic (GSD), temperature-dependent (TSD), or genotypic plus temperature effects (GSD+TE). For the fish species with TSD or GSD+TE, extremely high or low temperature can affect its sex determination and differentiation. For long time, the underlying changes in DNA methylation that occur during high or low temperature induced sex reversal have not been fully clarified. In this study, we used Nile tilapia as a model to perform a genome-wide survey of differences in DNA methylation in female and male gonads between control and high temperature induced groups using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP). We identified the high temperature induction-related differentially methylated regions (DMRs), and performed functional enrichment analysis for genes exhibiting DMR. These identified differentially methylated genes were potentially involved in the connection between environmental temperature and sex reversal in Nile tilapia. In this study, four samples (control females, CF; control males, CM; induced females, IF; induced males, IM) were analyzed.
Project description:GIFT is a type of freshwater farmed fish with high economic value and nutritional value. The liver is an important organ of fish metabolism. Once it is damaged or the disease occurs, it will lead to metabolic disorders and decreased disease resistance, and may cause other secondary diseases. In the high-density intensive culture of tilapia, the feed nutrition is not balanced, especially the addition of high-fat feed. High fat content can accelerate the growth of fish, but long-term feeding of high-fat diet can lead to metabolic disorders of fish, accumulation of fat in the body, easy to cause fatty liver, and ultimately death due to liver necrosis or hemorrhage, seriously affecting the breeding benefits. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of apple peel added to feed on liver fat metabolism and fat deposition in tilapia tilapia; use transcriptomics to analyze related signal regulation pathways, focusing on fat metabolism and inflammatory response; and finally screening differentially expressed genes. The development of this study is helpful to understand the molecular mechanism of apple peel extract powder-mediated liver fat metabolism and inflammatory response in GIFT, and relieve liver stress. It also provides theoretical support for the application of apple peel extract powder as a feed additiion in aquatic products.
Project description:In fish, the sex determining mechanisms can broadly be classified as genotypic (GSD), temperature-dependent (TSD), or genotypic plus temperature effects (GSD+TE). For the fish species with TSD or GSD+TE, extremely high or low temperature can affect its sex determination and differentiation. For long time, the underlying changes in DNA methylation that occur during high or low temperature induced sex reversal have not been fully clarified. In this study, we used Nile tilapia as a model to perform a genome-wide survey of differences in DNA methylation in female and male gonads between control and high temperature induced groups using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP). We identified the high temperature induction-related differentially methylated regions (DMRs), and performed functional enrichment analysis for genes exhibiting DMR. These identified differentially methylated genes were potentially involved in the connection between environmental temperature and sex reversal in Nile tilapia.