Wang Weilong, Ma Zhuojun, Li Weiquan, Xue Yucai, Moss Amina S, Wu Meiqin
Building of China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, Shanghai 201306, China.
Centre for Research on Environmental Ecology and Fish Nutrition of the Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai 201306, China.
Metabolites. 2024 Dec 3;14(12):676. doi: 10.3390/metabo14120676.
Carotenoids play essential nutritional and physiological roles in aquatic animals. Since aquatic species cannot synthesize carotenoids de novo, they must obtain these compounds from their diet to meet the physiological and adaptive requirements needed in specific aquaculture stages and conditions. Carotenoid supplementation in represents a promising strategy to enhance pigmentation, health, and growth in aquaculture species, particularly in larvae and other early developmental stages.
In this study, a β-carotene enrichment process was applied to metanauplii to investigate the biological fate and potential effects of β-carotene.
The results indicated significant β-carotene uptake by , with peak levels observed at 12 h. Alongside β-carotene, two xanthophylls-canthaxanthin and echinenone-were detected in , each exhibiting distinct patterns during the enrichment and subsequent depletion phases. The transcriptome analysis identified 2705 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), offering valuable insights into gene functions associated with carotenoid absorption, metabolism, and antioxidant mechanisms. The findings suggest that β-carotene enrichment enhances metabolic activity and energy pathways, supporting the physiological functions of . Notably, unlike other crustaceans, lack certain enzymes necessary for converting β-carotene into astaxanthin, restricting them to producing keto-carotenoids like canthaxanthin. Furthermore, the study highlights the upregulation of genes encoding lipid transport proteins, such as CD36 and ABC transporters, which may contribute to carotenoid absorption in . Additional functional insights are provided by the gene BCO2, which regulates pigmentation by preventing excessive carotenoid accumulation, along with ketolase and hydroxylase enzymes in carotenoid metabolic pathways.
This research advances our understanding of carotenoid metabolism in crustaceans, with potential implications for aquaculture nutrition and feed formulation.
类胡萝卜素在水生动物中发挥着重要的营养和生理作用。由于水生物种无法从头合成类胡萝卜素，它们必须从饮食中获取这些化合物，以满足特定水产养殖阶段和条件下的生理和适应性需求。在水产养殖物种中补充类胡萝卜素是一种有前景的策略，可增强色素沉着、健康状况和生长，特别是在幼体和其他早期发育阶段。
在本研究中，对无节幼体应用了β-胡萝卜素富集过程，以研究β-胡萝卜素的生物学归宿和潜在影响。
结果表明无节幼体对β-胡萝卜素的摄取量显著，在12小时时观察到峰值水平。除β-胡萝卜素外，在无节幼体中还检测到两种叶黄素——角黄素和海胆酮，它们在富集和随后的消耗阶段各呈现出不同的模式。转录组分析鉴定出2705个差异表达基因（DEGs），为与类胡萝卜素吸收、代谢和抗氧化机制相关的基因功能提供了有价值的见解。研究结果表明，β-胡萝卜素富集增强了代谢活性和能量途径，支持无节幼体的生理功能。值得注意的是，与其他甲壳类动物不同，无节幼体缺乏将β-胡萝卜素转化为虾青素所需的某些酶，这限制了它们只能产生角黄素等酮类胡萝卜素。此外，该研究突出了编码脂质转运蛋白的基因（如CD36和ABC转运蛋白）的上调，这可能有助于无节幼体吸收类胡萝卜素。基因BCO2提供了额外的功能见解，它通过防止类胡萝卜素过度积累来调节色素沉着，同时还有类胡萝卜素代谢途径中的酮醇酶和羟化酶。
本研究推进了我们对甲壳类动物类胡萝卜素代谢的理解，对水产养殖营养和饲料配方具有潜在意义。
