Effects of the short-term fasting and refeeding on growth-related genes in Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) larvae

The Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) spends a long period as the leptocephalus larval form under current rearing conditions. The duration of the larval stage until metamorphosis is influenced by body size and growth; however, little knowledge exists of the regulatory mechanism of growth in eel larvae. The present study focused on growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), and IGF binding protein (IGFBP) as the central regulators of growth in teleost fishes and transforming growth factor-beta 3 (TGF-β3) as a possible key modulator of muscle growth and body component synthesis. Japanese eel IGFBP-1a and TGF-β3, comprising 264 and 411 amino acids, respectively, were cloned. Short-term (5-day) fasting and refeeding experiments were performed to understand changes in growth-related genes affected by nutritional status. The relative expression of gh increased with fasting and subsequently decreased with refeeding to the basal levels of the fed control. Relative igf-1 and igf-2 expression levels were high in the fasted group. Relative igf-1 was reduced after 2-day refeeding, whereas igf-2 decreased to the basal level after 1-day refeeding, suggesting that IGF-1 and IGF-2 might be regulated independently and contribute to postnatal growth in eel larvae. Relative igfbp-1a expression was sharply increased by fasting, whereas tgf-β3 showed high and low values in the fed and fasted groups, respectively. Relative igfbp-1a and tgf-β3 levels were negatively and positively correlated with body size, respectively. These results suggest that igfbp-1a and tgf-β3 are potential indices of growth for exploring optimal rearing conditions to shorten the larval stage in Japanese eels. [Display omitted] •Fasting increased the expressions of gh, igfs, and igfbp-1a in early larvae.•Expression of IGFBP-1a is a useful indicator of growth retardation and stress.•TGF-β3 gene would involve in growth in the early larvae of Japanese eel.