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Morphological and histological changes in digestive tract development during starvation in the miiuy croaker

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Abstract

A histological method was used to describe the ontogenetic development of the digestive tract of laboratory-reared miiuy croaker (Miichthys miiuy) and to evaluate the effects of short-term food deprivation on the morphology and histology of the digestive tract. Larvae and juveniles were maintained at 24 °C in a thermostatically controlled system. Three starvation experiments were conducted during different developmental stages: 1–7 days after hatching (dah; prior to benthic swimming); 26–35 dah (during settling); and 42–53 dah (after benthic swimming). According to the structural changes in the ontogenetic development of the digestive tract, three stages were observed. The first stage was from hatching to 3 dah; the digestive tract was undifferentiated in newly hatched larvae and then showed remarkable morphological changes and differentiation. During this period, larvae depended on endogenous nutrition. The second stage (4–20 dah) was a critical period in which larvae transitioned from endogenous feeding to exogenous feeding and the digestive tract fully differentiated into the buccopharynx, oesophagus, stomach, anterior intestine and posterior intestine. Goblet cells and vacuoles appeared in the digestive tract, and pharyngeal teeth and taste buds developed. During the third stage (20–36 dah), the gastric glands developed and the stomach differentiated into the fundic, cardiac and pyloric regions. At 25 dah, pyloric caeca developed and mucosal folds and spiral valves were clearly distinguishable. After 30 dah, the digestive tract did not undergo any noticeable differentiation, indicating the complete development of the digestive system. The wet weight and SGR (specific growth rate) of miiuy croaker larvae and juveniles greatly decreased when they were deprived of food, and compensatory growth was observed in re-feeding juveniles. The livers of starved larvae and juveniles were atrophied and dark coloured, the intestines were transparent and thin, and the stomach cubages were reduced. The histological effects of starvation were mainly evident in the degeneration of cells in digestive organs, as seen in the shrinkage and separation of cells and the loss of intercellular substances in the liver, pancreas, intestine and stomach. These changes became more severe with increased duration of starvation. In addition, the histological structure of the digestive tracts of starved larvae and juveniles partly recovered after re-feeding, and the effects of starvation on miiuy croaker were age dependent.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (2015CB453300), the International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (2013DFA31410) and the Special Fund of the “Taishan Scholar” Project. Special thanks are given to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries Resource, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China

    Xiujuan Shan

  2. Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266235, People’s Republic of China

    Xiujuan Shan

  3. Fisheries Institute of Mindong, Ningde, 352100, People’s Republic of China

    Hanfeng Quan

  4. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China

    Shuozeng Dou

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Xiujuan Shan, Hanfeng Quan and Shuozeng Dou declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Shan, X., Quan, H. & Dou, S. Morphological and histological changes in digestive tract development during starvation in the miiuy croaker. Fish Physiol Biochem 42, 529–546 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-015-0157-3

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