Taurine and Fish Development: Insights for the Aquaculture Industry - Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology - page 311

Fig. 30.1 Metamorphosis pattern and TauT expression in Solea senegalensis larvae. DAH—days
after hatching. Results for me tam orphosis pattern are ex pressed as percentage of e ach metamor-
phic stage (pr e-metamorphic, ; early met amorphic, ; middle metamorphic, ; middle meta-
morphic, ; and late metamorphic, ) found at a certain age ( n = 20), as described by
Fernández-Díaz et al. ( 2001 ). Results for TauT expression are shown as TauT copy: refer-
ence gene (eEF1a1) copy ( n = 3 pooled samples). Results are given as means ± standard deviation.
Different numbers of asterisks represent significant differences for the mean metamorphic stage at
a certain age. Different letters represent significant differences for the expression of the TauT
throughout larval development. Adapted with permission from Pinto et al. ( 2012 )

metamorphosis (12 days after hatching) and achieving the highest values at post-
metamorphosis (30 days after hatching; Fig. 30.1 ). In Senegalese sole juveniles,
TauT mRNA was ubiquitously expressed in all analysed tissues, with a higher
expression level in brain, heart and eye. In the digestive tract, TauT expression was
higher in hindgut and stomach tissues.

30.4 Discussion

This study showed different effects of dietary taurine supplementation on gilthead sea
bream and Senegalese sole larval performance. In gilthead sea bream, dietary taurine
supplementation did not significantly affect larval growth or survival. These findings