The Annual Reproductive Cycle, Proximate Composition, Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Content of Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Magallana gigas), in Gadeok-do, Korea.

Environmental factors impact oyster growth, condition, and gonadal development, which is linked to gamete characteristics observed through histology. The reproductive cycle of bivalves is related to energy storage and utilization. Therefore, in this study, the year-round growth change and gonadal development of oysters were observed using histological analysis, and the biochemical composition changes were confirmed. The oysters used in this study are being nurtured in Gadeok-do, and 40 oysters were randomly sampled monthly from March 2021 to February 2022. Result of histological analysis of gonads, oysters were showed early development from December to February, late development from March and April, mature and ripe from May to July, spawned from August to October, and spent from November to December. Condition index values of oysters decreased in summer and autumn and increased again when entered the spent after spawning. The protein content of oysters was high in May, the maturity period, and the lipid content decreased during the spawning period. In addition, EPA and DHA, the major fatty acids of oysters, were low during the spawning period and high during the maturation period. As a result, this study suggested a close relationship between changes in oyster growth, biochemical composition, and the reproductive cycle.

Effects of Decreasing Fishmeal as Main Source of Protein on Growth, Digestive Physiology, and Gut Microbiota of Olive Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus).

In olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), growth performance, expression of growth-related factors, digestive physiology, and gut microbiota were assessed under farm conditions in the fish fed diets with low levels of fishmeal. Four experimental diets were prepared, FM70 [control (CON), 70% fishmeal], FM45 (45% fishmeal), FM35A (35% fishmeal), and FM35B (35% fishmeal + insect meal), and fed to the fish for five months. The CON-fed fish had the highest plasma GH, but IGF-1 and hepatic IGF-1 mRNA expression of the olive flounder fed diets with low-fishmeal levels did not significantly differ among diets. The intestinal villus length, muscular thickness, and the number of goblet cells were statistically similar, and ocular examination of hepatopancreas showed no discernable difference in all experimental diets. The chymotrypsin content of FM35B-fed fish is significantly lower, but trypsin and lipase contents are similar. The diversity of gut microbiota did not differ among groups, although the FM35B group had a higher composition of Firmicutes. Thus, a diet with reduced fishmeal content and several alternative protein sources can be used as feed ingredients in feed formulation for olive flounder reared under typical aquaculture farm conditions.