The Relationship between the Expression of Fatty Acyl Desaturase 2 (fads2) Gene in Peripheral Blood Cells (PBCs) and Liver in Gilthead Seabream, Sparus aurata Broodstock Fed a Low n-3 LC-PUFA Diet

• Published in: Life (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 10; no. 7; p. 117
• Main Authors: Ferosekhan, Shajahan, Turkmen, Serhat, Xu, Hanlin, Afonso, Juan Manuel, Zamorano, Maria Jesus, Kaushik, Sadasivam, Izquierdo, Marisol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 19.07.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Bioconversion; biomarker; Biomarkers; Biosynthesis; Blood; Blood cells; Breeding; broodstock; Correlation; Desaturase; Diet; fatty acid; Fatty acids; fatty acyl desaturase (fads2); Females; Fish meal; Fish oils; Gene expression; Hepatocytes; lipid metabolism; Liver; Metabolism; Nutrient deficiency; Nutritional status; Peripheral blood; Physiology; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Sparus aurata; Studies; Trout; Spain
• ISSN: 2075-1729; 2075-1729
• DOI: 10.3390/life10070117

The principle aim of this study is to elucidate the relationship between the fatty acid desaturase 2 gene (fads2) expression pattern in peripheral blood cells (PBCs) and liver of gilthead seabream (GSB), Sparus aurata broodstock in order to determine the possible use of fads2 expression as a potential biomarker for the selection of broodstock. This selection could be utilized for breeding programs aiming to improve reproduction, health, and nutritional status. Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagged GSB broodstock (Male-1.22 ± 0.20 kg; 44.8 ± 2 cm and female-2.36 ± 0.64 kg; 55.1 cm) were fed a diet containing low levels of fish meal and fish oil (EPA 2.5; DHA 1.7 and n-3 LC-PUFA 4.6% TFA) for one month. After the feeding period, fads2 expression in PBCs and liver of both male and female broodstock were highly significantly correlated (r = 0.89; p < 0.001). Additionally, in male broodstock, liver fads2 expression was significantly correlated (p < 0.05) to liver contents in 16:0 (r = 0.95; p = 0.04) and total saturates (r = 0.97; p = 0.03) as well as to 20:3n–6/20:2n–6 (r = 0.98; p = 0.02) a Fads2 product/precursor ratio. Overall, we found a positive and significant correlation between fads2 expression levels in the PBCs and liver of GSB broodstock. PBCs fads2 expression levels indicate a strong potential for utilization as a non-invasive method to select animals having increased fatty acid bioconversion capability, better able to deal with diets free of fish meal and fish oil.