Nutritional strategies for Nile tilapia: protein and carbohydrate balances in saline-alkaline aquaculture

作者：Wei Liu, Erchao Li, Chang Xu, Liqiao Chen, Xiaodan Wang · 发表于：Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology/Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s40104-025-01215-8 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth、Aquaculture disease management and microbiota、Physiological and biochemical adaptations

BACKGROUND: The development of saline-alkaline water aquaculture is an important part of the development of the global food supply. However, there is still limited knowledge about nutritional strategies for aquaculture in saline-alkaline water, including essential nutrients such as proteins and carbohydrates. In this study, our objective was to elucidate the role of different protein-to-carbohydrate ratios in the adaptation of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to salinity-alkalinity stress. RESULTS: Fish were fed three isoenergetic (16.5 kJ/g) and isolipidic (60 g/kg) diets with different protein-to-carbohydrate ratios (27% protein and 35% carbohydrate; 35% protein and 25% carbohydrate; 42% protein and 15% carbohydrate) for 50 d. Nile tilapia (0.44 ± 0.03 g) were exposed to both freshwater (salinity: 0.2 PSU; alkalinity: 0.5 g/L NaHCO₃) and saline-alkaline water (salinity: 16.0 PSU; alkalinity: 3.0 g/L NaHCO₃) to observe changes in growth performance, whole-body composition, and antioxidant capacity. To further elucidate the role of protein-to-carbohydrate ratios, we performed gut microbiota and transcriptomic analyses. The results revealed that salinity-alkalinity stress induced oxidative stress, damaged the gill tissue structure, caused hepatocyte cytoplasmic vacuolation, increased the energy demand and the abundance of intestinal pathogens, and ultimately inhibited the growth of tilapia. A diet containing 27% protein and 35% carbohydrate significantly alleviated oxidati...