Dietary starch promotes hepatic lipogenesis in barramundi (Lates calcarifer).

Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) are a highly valued aquaculture species, and, as obligate carnivores, they have a demonstrated preference for dietary protein over lipid or starch to fuel energetic growth demands. In order to investigate how carnivorous fish regulate nutritional cues, we examined the metabolic effects of feeding two isoenergetic diets that contained different proportions of digestible protein or starch energy. Fish fed a high proportion of dietary starch energy had a higher proportion of liver SFA, but showed no change in plasma glucose levels, and few changes in the expression of genes regulating key hepatic metabolic pathways. Decreased activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin growth signalling cascade was consistent with decreased growth performance values. The fractional synthetic rate (lipogenesis), measured by TAG 2H-enrichment using 2H NMR, was significantly higher in barramundi fed with the starch diet compared with the protein diet (0·6 (se 0·1) v. 0·4 (se 0·1) % per d, respectively). Hepatic TAG-bound glycerol synthetic rates were much higher than other closely related fish such as sea bass, but were not significantly different (starch, 2·8 (se 0·3) v. protein, 3·4 (se 0·3) % per d), highlighting the role of glycerol as a metabolic intermediary and high TAG-FA cycling in barramundi. Overall, dietary starch significantly increased hepatic TAG through increased lipogenesis. Compared with other fish, barramundi possess a unique mechanism to metabolise dietary carbohydrates and this knowledge may define ways to improve performance of advanced formulated feeds.

The effect of high water temperatures on the allometric scaling effects of energy and protein starvation losses in juvenile barramundi, Lates calcarifer.

This study was undertaken to examine the effects of high water temperatures on the allometric scaling effects of energy and protein starvation losses by juvenile barramundi, Lates calcarifer. The somatic energy and protein loss was examined in fish of varying sizes when starved for 24 or 25 days at temperatures ranging from 23 °C to 38 °C. The amount of energy and protein lost varied according to both size and temperature and was consistent with the function of a*W(b), where a is a temperature dependent coefficient, W the animal's weight and b an exponent relating energy loss to live-weight. The coefficient for energy or protein loss varied and was described by a polynomial function, with a general increase from 23 °C to 32 °C, before a dramatic decline after 35°C. In contrast, the exponent for energy loss was relatively constant between 23 °C and 35 °C, but showed a rapid increase at 38 °C. Both the coefficients and exponents of protein loss mirrored that of energy loss. Analysis of the protein and lipid contributions to energy loss shows that typically lipid loss accounts for the greater part of energy loss (~67%), but also shows that above 35 °C protein energy loss increases (from ~33% to ~39%) while the losses seen from lipid catabolism remain the same. These results show that one of the main nutritional issues associated with heat stress in fish is a dramatic increase in endogenous loss of protein.