Dietary oils influence ovary and carcass composition and embryonic development of zebrafish

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of different dietary lipids on zebrafish reproduction, we examined parameters including ovary and carcass composition, oestradiol (E2) levels, eclosion rate and embryonic development. In our study, zebrafish were subjected to a 5‐month feeding trial whereby olive (OLV), linseed (LIN), fish (FIS) or corn (CRN) oil were used to compose four isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets. A positive correlation was found between ovary EPA and whole‐body E2 concentration (P = 0.005). The developmental dynamics was affected by dietary lipids and embryos from CRN treatment females; which had higher percentage of ARA in ovary (1.48 ± 0.44%) (P = 0.015), developed faster at 8–9 h postfertilization (hpf) than the ones originated from females receiving other diets (P = 0.0069). This effect was not sustained during later observation periods, suggesting ARA may act as a modulator of developmental dynamics only during initial phases. There was no clear effect of dietary lipid source on ovary protein content (P = 0.304) and eclosion rates at 72 hpf (P = 0.0623). Dietary fatty acids play an important role in reproductive outcome; however, additional studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanisms by which HUFA affect embryonic development.