Growth and gonadal development in diploid and triploid Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).

Induction of triploidy has been suggested as an effective tool to prevent spawning of farmed fish. This experiment examined the growth potential of triploid cod when reared communally with diploid ones after the juvenile stage. Pressure treatment was used to induce triploidy in a batch of cod eggs in April 2009. The resulting offspring were reared separately from their diploid counterparts until they reached the proper size for PIT tagging. At the age of 8 months, an equal number of 115 diploids (135.5 ± 3.95 g) and triploids (93.6 ± 2.63 g) were communally reared in a circular flow-through tank until the age of 22 months. By the end of this rearing period, diploids (1,002.4 ± 39.9 g) were significantly heavier than triploids (654.6 ± 27.7 g), but the specific growth rate did not differ significantly during the growth trial. Gonadal development at the age of 22 months was also lower among triploids than diploids, especially for females (5.3 and 91.9 %) but also for males (32.5 and 72.7 %). Sterility among female triploids was evident by the reduced size and dysfunctional gonads, but gonadal development in male triploids was less suppressed. Prevalence of body deformities was, however, significantly higher among triploids (62.6 %) than diploids (33.9 %). Higher prevalence of deformities in triploid cod underlines the need for further fine-tuning of the triploidization procedure or finding other methods of sterilization. At present, triploid cod are still far from being established as an alternative for commercial production.

Cod cathelicidin: isolation of the mature peptide, cleavage site characterisation and developmental expression.

Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides are multifunctional peptides that are important in the innate immune system of mammals. Cathelicidins have been identified in several fish species. In this study we have isolated cathelicidin from Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and identified the cleavage site from the cathelin propart. This is the first isolation of a cathelicidin from teleost fish. The mature cathelicidin was found to be a 67-residues peptide, highly cationic with a pI of 13. Reversed phase chromatographic fractions containing the purified peptide had pronounced antimicrobial activity and the activity of the mature peptide was confirmed using a synthetic peptide. We examined the expression of cathelicidin during cod larvae early development using real-time PCR and detected expression that varied in the course of the first 68 days post hatching (dph). Two groups of larvae having a different food regime were compared. Cathelicidin expression was found to differ between the two groups and this could be linked to their food input. The presence and rapid adjustment of cathelicidin expression in the larvae indicate that the immune system of cod is active from early on in development and responds to external stimuli by the production of antimicrobial peptides.

Differential protein expression in early Atlantic cod larvae (Gadus morhua) in response to treatment with probiotic bacteria.

Proteome analysis was used to study the effects of probiotic bacteria treatment on the protein expression in early Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae. The main focus was on proteins connected to immune function, growth and development. The results demonstrated that none of the identified cod larvae proteins showing up-regulation after administration of probiotic bacteria are known to have a function in immunity. In contrast, several proteins exhibiting down-regulation after exposure to the probiotic bacteria may be related to stress and immune responses. This indicates that the probiotic treated larvae were experiencing a lower level of immune-stimulation than the control group. It is therefore tempting to postulate that the probiotic bacteria mixture used in the present study reduced the environmental stress by inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Most of the identified up-regulated proteins in the probiotic group relative to the control may be linked to growth and development. The most pronounced up-regulation of proteins was found in several muscle α-actin isoforms indicating improved growth upon probiotic bacteria treatment.

The ontogenic development of innate immune parameters of cod (Gadus morhua L.).

The aim of this study was to monitor the ontogenic development of innate immune parameters of cod (Gadus morhua L.) and to determine the presence of maternal IgM. The general protein composition and enzyme activity was also studied. At intervals, samples were collected of fertilized cod eggs and larvae from 3 days after fertilization until 57 days after hatching. Cell lysates were prepared and analysed by Western blotting using antibodies prepared against cod IgM, the complement component C3 and C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as against cod serum proteins and haemoglobin. Antibodies against salmon cathepsins and against several mammalian proteins of immunological significance were also used. Maternal IgM was not detected but C3 and the closely associated apolipoprotein A-I were present from the time of embryo organogenesis. C-reactive protein was not detected and none of the antibodies against mammalian immune parameters cross-reacted with the cod material. Protein and proteomic analysis showed that the major proteins of the egg samples were vitellogenin derived maternal proteins. Other non-vitellogenin maternal proteins, not yet identified, were also detected in the fertilized eggs. Cathepsin was present in all samples, but other enzyme activity was restricted to larval samples from 4 days after hatching when feeding had commenced. Haemoglobin was not detected until 10 days after hatching.