Comparison of the growth performance and long-chain PUFA biosynthetic ability of the genetically improved farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) reared in different salinities.

To compare the growth and biosynthetic ability of long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) of the genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) (Oreochromis niloticus) in different water salinities, an 8-week feeding trial was conducted on the GIFT juveniles at 0, 12 and 24 ‰ (parts per thousand; ppt), respectively, with three isonitrogenous (32 %) and isolipidic (8 %) diets (D1-D3). Diet D1 with fish oils (rich in LC-PUFA) as lipid source was used as the control, while D2 and D3 with vegetable oil (free LC-PUFA) blends as lipid source contained different ratios of linoleic acid (LA, 18 : 2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18 : 3n-3) at 4·04 (D2) and 0·54 (D3), respectively. At the end of feeding trial, the growth performance of D2 and D3 groups under all salinity treatments was as good as that of D1 group, which indicates that the GIFT juveniles may convert dietary LA and ALA into LC-PUFA to meet the requirement of essential fatty acids for normal growth and physiology. When fed the same diets, GIFT at 12 ppt had a better growth performance coupled with a higher liver and muscle arachidonic acid content than those in freshwater. Furthermore, brackish water (24 ppt) significantly promoted the mRNA levels of elongase 5 of very long-chain fatty acids (elovl5) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (pparα) in liver, when compared with freshwater. These results suggest that the GIFT may display better growth performance together with a relatively higher endogenous LC-PUFA biosynthetic ability under brackish water (12 and 24 ppt), probably through improving the expression of elovl5 and pparα in liver.