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Simple Summary: This study explored the effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on growth, immunity, erythropoiesis, and angiogenesis in Gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). Gibel carp were fed with five levels of GABA for a total of eight weeks. This study showed that the growth performance of Gibel carp was improved, the immune performance was enhanced, and the expression of erythropoietic and angiogenic genes was also enhanced. In conclusion, GABA had a positive effect on the growth of Gibel carp. This experiment aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the growth performance, immune response, and oxygen-transport-related factors of Gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). An eight-week culturing experiment was designed with five experimental diets, with the actual GABA content being 368 mg/kg (G1, control group), 449 mg/kg (G2), 527 mg/kg (G3), 602 mg/kg (G4), and 675 mg/kg (G5). The results showed that the level of 527 mg/kg (G3) of GABA significantly increased the specific growth rate (SGR), weight gain rate (WGR), and final body weight (FBW) of Gibel carp, while the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), and glucose (GLU) were also increased significantly. In addition, 527 mg/kg (G3) and 602 mg/kg (G4) of GABA significantly increased the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). The mRNA expression of tnf-α, tgf-β, and il-10 was significantly increased at the level of 449 mg/kg (G2). In terms of oxygen-carrying capacity, the mRNA expression of epo, tf, tfr1, ho-1, and vegf was markedly increased at the level of 449 mg/kg (G2). In conclusion, dietary GABA supplementation can boost growth performance, enhance the immune system, and increase oxygen-carrying capacity in Gibel carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary yeast polysaccharide (YPS) supplementation on the growth performance, whole-body composition, antioxidant capacity, and immunity of juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). In this study, five diets with YPS levels of 0.00% (control), 0.05% (0.05Y), 0.10% (0.10Y), 0.15% (0.15Y), and 0.20% (0.20Y) were designed and prepared. A total of 300 healthy fish (3.20 ± 0.03 g) were randomly divided into 15 floating cages (1 × 1 × 1 m) in five different groups, with three replicates per group, for an 8-week culture experiment. The 0.10Y and 0.20Y groups had significantly higher feed conversion ratios compared with the control group. There was no significant effect on any of the other growth indicators. Plasma biochemical indices showed that the 0.10Y group exhibited the highest plasma alkaline phosphatase content and the 0.20Y group exhibited the highest plasma glucose content. Plasma antioxidant indices (total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione) and antioxidant genes (catalase and superoxide dismutase) were elevated in the 0.05Y or 0.10Y groups, and the malondialdehyde content decreased with increasing YPS concentration. Moreover, the 0.05Y group showed significantly higher immune-related gene (nuclear factor-kappa B, interleukin-8, and interleukin-10) mRNA expression. Altogether, our results indicate that dietary YPS supplementation enhances the antioxidant and immune capacity of M. salmoides, but with no positive effect on their growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An eight-week trial was designed to study the effects of arginine (Arg) supplemented diets on the growth, immunity, antioxidant activity, and oxygen-carrying capacity of juvenile Gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). A total of 300 fish (27.53 ± 0.03 g) were randomized into 15 equal groups and fed on diets with graded Arg levels: 0 (control), 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, and 0.8% (w/w). The results showed that final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR), and specific growth rate (SGR) all increased and then declined with increasing levels of Arg supplementation, while feed conversion ratio (FCR) showed the opposite trend. In addition, the fish's whole-body crude protein and ash content had no remarkable difference at different levels of Arg addition (p > 0.05). Supplementation with 0.6% and 0.8% Arg significantly increased plasma alanine transaminase (ALT) activity (p < 0.05). The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities of the liver were not significantly different between the different levels of Arg supplementation (p > 0.05), while catalase (CAT) activity was significantly increased with 0.4% Arg supplementation levels (p < 0.05). The 0.8% Arg supplementation greatly increased the expression of hepatic-related genes to the Nrf2 signaling pathway, including sod and gpx (p < 0.05). However, the 0.8% Arg supplementation did not significantly increase the relative expression of genes related to the NF-κB signaling pathway, including il-1β, il-8, and tnf-α (p > 0.05). Similarly, the relative expression of hif-1 signaling pathway-related genes at 0.8% Arg supplementation was significantly elevated, including hif-1α, epo, and vegf (p < 0.05). Hence, Arg supplementation could promote growth and improve immune, antioxidant, and oxygen-carrying capacity in juvenile Gibel carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of S6K1α and β on the expression of glycolysis- and gluconeogenesis-related genes in juvenile blunt snout bream. The two isoforms, α and β, of S6K1 in blunt snout bream were successfully cloned and characterized, and their expression patterns were examined in vivo. In this study, we designed multiple sets of siRNAs to specifically degrade s6k1α and s6k1β expression in this fish. α-siRNA inhibited both s6k1α and s6k1β expression, but β-siRNA exclusively inhibited s6k1α expression. S6K1α was more intimately involved in the regulation of gluconeogenesis when only S6K1α was inhibited, whereas the inhibition of both S6K1α and S6K1β collectively co-regulated glycolysis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of S6K1α and β on the expression of glycolysis- and gluconeogenesis-related genes in juvenile blunt snout bream. Two isoforms, α and β, of ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 in blunt snout bream were cloned and characterized, and their expression patterns were examined in vivo. The sequence analysis showed that s6k1α and s6k1β contain open reading frames of 2217 and 1497 bp, encoding 738 and 498 amino acids, respectively. Both S6K1α and S6K1β consist of an S_TKc domain and an extended S_TK_X domain. s6k1α and s6k1β were abundantly expressed in the heart and gonads. siRNAs were designed, and the experiment showed that α-siRNA inhibited s6k1α and s6k1β expression, but β-siRNA exclusively inhibited s6k1α expression (p < 0.05). α-siRNA upregulated the expression levels of gk and pk, while β-siRNA upregulated pepck and g6p expression (p < 0.05). The expression of g6pdh was found to be downregulated, but the gs mRNA level was overexpressed after treatment with α-siRNA and β-siRNA (p < 0.05). In the present experiment, S6K1α was more intimately involved in the regulation of gluconeogenesis when only S6K1α was inhibited, whereas the inhibition of both S6K1α and S6K1β collectively co-regulated glycolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study examined the effects of chlorogenic acid (CGA) on largemouth bass's growth, immunity, and antioxidant status. Over eight weeks, fish were fed diets with varying CGA levels. In this study, CGA improved the growth performance and lowered the FCR. In addition, CGA enhanced the antioxidant capacity and regulated the expression of genes related to immune responses, thereby strengthening immunity. Overall, the addition of CGA positively impacted the health and growth of largemouth bass. This experiment evaluated the function of chlorogenic acid (CGA) in the growth, health status, and inflammation of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Over eight weeks, CGA supplementation was designed at five levels: 0, 60, 120, 180, and 240 mg/kg. The 180 and 240 mg/kg CGA-supplemented groups showed significant improvements in the FBW, SGR, and WGR compared to the control group (0 mg/kg) (p < 0.05). All the CGA-supplemented groups exhibited a significant reduction in the FCR (p < 0.05), with the 180 mg/kg CGA group showing the lowest FCR. Nonetheless, there were no appreciable differences in the plasma concentrations of TP, ALT, or AST among the treatments (p > 0.05). Compared to the control group, the 180 mg/kg CGA group exhibited significantly lower TC and TG levels (p < 0.05). The ALP levels showed no significant differences from the control group (p > 0.05). In terms of antioxidant parameters, CGA supplementation considerably reduced the MDA content (p < 0.05) and increased the GSH levels, while decreasing the CAT, SOD, and GPx activity levels Meanwhile, CGA supplementation resulted in reduced mRNA levels of SOD, CAT, Nrf2, Keap1, and NF-κB compared to the control group. In contrast, the mRNA levels of GPx, IL-8, TLR2, and RelA were elevated in the liver. Our findings indicated that CGA supplementation improved the growth performance and antioxidant status and weakened the inflammatory response of largemouth bass. These findings suggest that CGA could be a valuable dietary supplement for enhancing the health and growth of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the optimal dietary copper (Cu) levels and their effects on growth performance, body composition, and antioxidant capacity in juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). A total of 360 fish (initial average weight (1.67 ± 0.01 g) and initial average length (2.5 ± 0.2 cm)) were randomly assigned to 18 tanks, each containing 20 fish and six dietary Cu concentrations: 2.13 (control), 3.00, 3.66, 4.58, 4.64, and 5.72 mg/kg. The results indicated that fish receiving 3.00 mg/kg of Cu exhibited the best final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR), and specific growth rate (SGR), with a significantly reduced feed conversion ratio (FCR). While body composition (moisture, protein, lipid, and ash) remained consistent across groups, plasma total protein (TP) levels increased with Cu supplementation. Elevated triglycerides (TG) and albumin (ALB) were noted at 4.64 and 5.72 mg/kg, respectively, while glucose (GLU) levels decreased with an increase in dietary Cu. Antioxidant capacity, assessed via hepatic glutathione (GSH) and the activities of catalase (CAT), and showed significant improvements at 3.00 and 3.66 mg/kg Cu, while superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed the highest activity at a dietary Cu level of 5.72 mg/kg. Additionally, the expressions of tgf-β and tnf-α genes were significantly upregulated at a dietary Cu level of 5.72 mg/kg, while il-8 and il-10 genes were upregulated at dietary 3.66 mg/kg. The expression of nrf2 was significantly upregulated in response to a dietary Cu level of 3.66 mg/kg compared to the control group, and the expression of the keap1 gene was significantly upregulated in the fish fed with 5.72 mg/kg of dietary Cu. The results indicated that appropriate dietary supplementation could promote the growth performance and improve the antioxidant status the immunity of largemouth bass, and the optimal Cu requirement for FCR and SGR were approximately 3.10 mg/kg and 3.00 mg/kg, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Cholecystokinin (cck) is an important factor in regulating feed intake. According to a previous study, replacing fish meal (FM) in the diet of largemouth bass could downregulate the expression of the cck gene; however, the underlying regulatory mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effect of cck on feed intake and its potential mechanism of action via injecting exogenous CCK peptide and its receptor antagonist. This study's results indicate that cck could regulate the feed intake of largemouth bass through regulating feeding-related genes in the brain and intestine. Furthermore, cck required binding with the receptor to inhibit feed intake more effectively in largemouth bass, and the binding effect of cholecystokinin receptor 1 (CCK1R) was better than that of cholecystokinin receptor 2 (CCK2R), which could lay a theoretical foundation for the study of fish feeding regulation. This study investigated the role of cholecystokinin (cck) in the feeding regulation of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) via peptide activation and antagonist inhibition. The results show that the cck gene was expressed in various tissues, with the highest expression level occurring in the brain. Feeding, continuous feeding, and refeeding after fasting could significantly improve the mRNA levels of cck in the brain. Moreover, the activation of cck via injecting an exogenous CCK peptide could inhibit feed intake by regulating the mRNA levels of anorexigenic and feed-promoting factors in the brain and intestine. Furthermore, the CCK peptide reduced feed intake; however, the presence of an antagonist (Ly225910-CCK1R and devazepide-CCK2R) could reverse this effect through regulating the mRNA levels of anorexigenic and feed-promoting factors in the brain and intestine. Treatment with devazepide + CCK (CCK2R) reversed feed intake more effectively than Ly225910 + CCK (CCK1R) treatment. In summary, cck could regulate the feed intake of largemouth bass through regulating feeding-related genes in the brain and intestine. In addition, cck required binding with the receptor to inhibit feed intake more effectively in largemouth bass, and the binding effect of CCK1R was better than that of CCK2R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: To reveal the effects of waterborne copper stress on gene expression changes, molecular pathways, and physiological functions in Coilia nasus, two libraries were constructed from a copper treatment group (Cu) and a control group (C) and sequenced using Illumina sequencing technology. The present study indicates the main view: copper induces the aberrant expression of immune and metabolic aspects of genes, suggesting that copper causes metabolic disorders and insufficient energy supply in the body, and it induces oxidative stress, which results in reduced immune functions. To reveal the effects of waterborne copper stress on gene expression changes, molecular pathways, and physiological functions in Coilia nasus, juvenile fish were equally divided into two experimental groups, and the copper levels were 1.61 ± 0.03 mg/L (copper-exposed group) and 0 mg/L (control group), respectively. After 4 h, gill tissue samples were collected for transcript sequencing analysis, and two libraries were constructed from the copper treatment group (Cu) and the control group (C) and sequenced using Illumina sequencing technology. The results showed that approximately 40.2–46.0 M clean reads were obtained from each library, and the percentage of uniquely mapped transcripts ranged from 80.57 to 84.93%. A total of 3915 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified under waterborne copper stress, among which 1300 genes were up-regulated, and 2615 genes were down-regulated. Twelve DEGs were randomly selected for quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, and the results confirmed that the transcriptome analysis was reliable. Furthermore, the DEGs were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, and the results showed that most of the DEGs were involved in metabolic pathways, including steroid biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathways. Furthermore, due to the waterborne copper levels, gsk-3β was significantly up-regulated, while other metabolism-related genes (tor, pi3k, lpl, aqp7, fabp3) were significantly down-regulated. In addition, the copper-exposed group significantly reduced the expression of some immunity genes (ifn-γ, stat1, cxcl10, and tgf-β), and enhanced the expression of il-1β and tnf-α. In summary, these results indicated that copper causes metabolic disorders and insufficient energy supply in the body, and induces oxidative stress, which results in reduced immune functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of replacing 0% (SPC0), 25% (SPC25), 50% (SPC50), 75% (SPC75), and 100% (SPC100) of fish meal (FM) with soy protein concentrate (SPC) on the growth, nutritional metabolism, antioxidant capacity, and inflammatory factors in juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) (17.03 ± 0.01 g). After 56 days of culturing, various growth parameters including FW, WGR, and SGR were not significantly different among SPC0, SPC25, and SPC50 groups; however, they were significantly higher than those in SPC75 and SPC100 groups. Conversely, significantly lower FCR were determined for the SPC0, SPC25, and SPC50 groups compared with that for the SPC100 group; specifically, no significant difference among SPC0, SPC25, and SPC50 groups was found. Moreover, compared with SPC75 and SPC100 groups, a significantly higher FI was observed in the SPC0 group, whereas a significantly lower SR was observed in SPC100 compared with that in SPC0 and SPC25 groups. Compared with the SPC0 group, significantly lower mRNA levels of tor, rps6, 4ebp1, pparγ, and fas were found in SPC75 and SPC100. Additionally, the mRNA levels of cpt were significantly higher in SPC0, SPC25, and SPC50 groups than in SPC75 and SPC100 groups. Moreover, the mRNA levels of scd and acc remained unchanged for all the groups. Replacement of FM with SPC did not significantly affect the mRNA levels of gk, pk, and pepck. Compared with the SPC0 group, significantly decreased activities of CAT were observed in the SPC50, SPC75, and SPC100 groups, and significantly decreased activities of GSH-Px were observed in the SPC75 and SPC100 groups. In addition, significantly lower activity of SOD was observed in SPC100 compared with the other groups. Moreover, compared with the other groups, the SPC75 and SPC100 groups had significantly decreased and increased contents of GSH and MDA, respectively, while significantly lower mRNA levels of nrf2, cat, sod, and gsh-px were found in SPC50, SPC75, and SPC100; however, significantly higher mRNA levels of keap1 were observed in SPC75 and SPC100 groups. Additionally, significantly higher mRNA levels of il-8 and nf-κb were found in the SPC50, SPC75, and SPC100 groups compared with the SPC0 group. Conversely, significantly lower mRNA levels of il-10 and significantly higher mRNA levels of tnf-α were found in the SPC75 and SPC100 groups compared with the other groups. Compared with the SPC0 group, mucosal thickness and villus height were significantly decreased in the SPC75 and SPC100 groups. Collectively, SPC replacing 50% FM did not affect its growth of juvenile largemouth bass. However, SPC replacing 50% or more FM might inhibit antioxidant capacity and immune capacity to even threaten the SR, resulting in impaired intestinal development in replacing FM level of 75% or more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 9‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacing soybean meal (SBM) with sunflower meal (SM) or fermented sunflower meal (FSM) on the growth performance, intestinal microbiota, and intestinal health of genetically improved farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (initial weight 6.55 ± 0.01 g). Eleven isonitrogenous and isolipidic experimental diets were formulated by replacing 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of dietary SBM with SM or FSM. The results showed that the replacement of more than 40% of SBM with SM decreased the weight gain and special growth rate of tilapia, while the complete replacement of SBM with FSM did not affect the growth performance of tilapia. From transmission electron microscopy analyses, it was shown that high levels of both SM and FSM substitution resulted in damage to the intestinal epithelium of tilapia. Replaced of 20% SBM with SM upregulated intestinal tight junction (zo-1, claudin, occludin) and anti‐inflammatory (tgf-β1, tgf-β2) gene expression and downregulated pro‐inflammatory gene expression (tnf-α, il-1β, il-6, il-8). However, the expression of tight junction, anti‐inflammatory, and pro‐inflammatory genes showed opposite trends when SBM was substituted by SM at high levels. FSM completely replaces SBM and downregulates the expression of tight junction genes (claudin, occludin), replacement of more than 20% of SBM with FSM downregulated pro‐inflammatory (tnf-α, il-1β, il-8) gene expression, whereas substitution of less than 80% increased the expression of anti‐inflammatory genes (tgf-β1). The 100% FSM group exhibited a decreased abundance of Fusobacteriota and an increased abundance of Actinobacteriota compared to the control and 100% SM groups. In summary, our data confirm that replacing more than 40% of SBM with SM induces gut inflammation, damages gut health, and decreases growth performance, whereas FSM replacement of SBM did not negatively affect tilapia growth and health, it also did not have a significant ameliorative effect, with some parameters negatively affected at high replacement levels. Therefore, FSM replacement of SBM levels above 80% is not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to assess the impact of replacing fish meal (FM) with rubber seed cake (RSC) on growth performance, digestive enzyme activity of the gut, antioxidant capacity and protein metabolism-related parameters of plasma and liver in juvenile Asian red-tailed catfish ( Hemibagrus wyckioides ) with an average body weight of 3.21 g. Four isonitrogenous (41.08 ± 0.17) and isolipidic (10.07 ± 0.11) diets were formulated, incorporating RSC at a level of 0%, 15%, 30%, and 45% ( w / w ) to progressively replace FM. Dietary inclusion of 15-30% RSC did not significantly affect growth performance ( p > 0.05). However, the replacement of FM with RSC resulted in linear reductions in intestinal trypsin and amylase activities, with a significant reduction in intestinal amylase activity observed at the 45% RSC inclusion level. Dietary inclusion of 30-45% RSC decreased plasma glutamate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, but increased plasma adenosine monophosphate deaminase and hepatic γ-glutamyltransferase activities. This may indicate that the high substitution of FM by RSC may affect the homeostasis of amino acid metabolism. Dietary inclusion of 15% RSC did not affect serum and hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities; however, dietary inclusion of 45% RSC significantly increased plasma malondialdehyde level, but decreased catalase activity. Furthermore, dietary inclusion of 30-45% RSC significantly increased hepatic lactate dehydrogenase activity. These results demonstrated that replacing a portion of FM with RSC is feasible, and dietary inclusion of 15% RSC did not have significant adverse effects on growth performance, digestive function and antioxidant capacity of H. wyckioides .

An eight-week experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary ferroporphyrin (FPR) supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune response, and oxygen-carrying capacity in gibel carp. The results demonstrated that the addition of FPR increased the moisture content of the whole fish body. Supplementation with 0.01% FPR significantly increased the plasma albumin (ALB), total protein (TP), and total cholesterol (TC) contents. The addition of 0.03% and 0.04% FPR significantly increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, respectively, while the glucose (GLU), TC, and total triglyceride (TG) levels showed opposite trends. In terms of antioxidant capacity, the 0.03% and 0.04% dietary FPR supplementation increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) exhibited an opposite trend to MDA levels. The supplementation of 0.03% of FPR resulted in a notable reduction in mRNA expression levels of nrf2 , keap1 , cat , and gpx. Regarding immunity, 0.01% FPR supplementation down-regulated the expression levels of il-1β mRNA, while 0.02% FPR down-regulated il-6 and nf-κb expression levels. Furthermore, 0.02% FPR supplementation significantly up-regulated the il-10 mRNA expression levels. In terms of oxygen-carrying capacity, high levels of FPR (0.03% and 0.04%) were found to influence the epo and vegf mRNA expression. In conclusion, the incorporation of dietary 0.01-0.02% FPR improved the immune system of gibel carp without affecting their antioxidant and oxygen-carrying capacity. However, supplementation with higher levels of FPR (0.03-0.04%) led to decreased antioxidant and oxygen-carrying capacity.

A nine-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacing wheat bran (WB) with palm kernel cake (PKC) or fermented palm kernel cake (FPKC) on the growth performance, intestinal microbiota and intestinal health of genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT, Oreochromis niloticus ) (initial weight 7.00 ± 0.01 g). Eleven isonitrogenous and isolipidic experimental diets were formulated by replacing 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% of dietary WB with PKC or FPKC. Replacement of WB with PKC concentrations up to 80% had no significant effect on the growth rate of tilapia or feed utilisation ( p  > 0.05). FPKC improved the growth performance of tilapia, with optimum growth achieved at 40% replacement level ( p  < 0.05). Complete replacement with PKC significantly decreased the activity of lipase and trypsin, and reduced the height of muscularis and the height of villus ( p  < 0.05). However, FPKC significantly increased amylase activity and villus height ( p  < 0.05). The apparent digestibility of dry matter and energy decreased linearly with increasing levels of PKC substitution, while FPKC showed the opposite trend ( p  < 0.05). PKC replacement of WB by 20% significantly reduced serum diamine oxidase activity and endothelin levels and increased intestinal tight junctions ( p  < 0.05). However, FPKC significantly decreased diamine oxidase activity and increased intestinal tight junctions ( p  < 0.05). PKC completely replaced WB, up-regulating the expression of pro-inflammatory factors ( il-1β ) ( p  < 0.05). When 40% of WB was replaced with FPKC, the expression of pro-inflammatory factors ( il-1β and il-6 ) was decreased significantly ( p  < 0.05). Completely replacement of WB with PKC reduced the abundance of Firmicutes and Chloroflexi, while FPKC reduced the abundance of Fusobacteriota and increased the levels of Actinobacteriota. WB can be replaced with PKC up to 80% in tilapia feeds. However, the high percentage of gluten induced intestinal inflammation, impaired gut health, and reduced dietary nutrient utilisation and growth performance. Complete replacement of WB with FPKC promoted intestinal immunity. It also improved dietary nutrient utilisation and growth performance. However, the optimal growth was achieved at a 40% replacement level., Competing Interests: LuZ and HM are employed by Tongwei Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Huang, Lin, Meng, Liu, Fan, Zhu, Chen, Zhang, Mi and Deng.)

The study aimed to compare MspI polymorphisms in the 3rd intron of the porcine gene encoding the pituitary-1 transcription factor (Pit-1, renamed as POU1F1) among 5 breeds and to determine the associations between its genotypes and growth performance in a commercial pig population by using the PCR-RFLP technique. Significant differences in genotypic and allelic frequencies were found between the meat-type and fat-type breeds (P < 0.05), and between miniature pigs and others (P < 0.05). No breed deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (verified by chi-square test). The general linear model analysis revealed that higher body weight on day 180 (BW180) and average daily gain (ADG) were significantly associated with POU1F1 DD genotype (P < 0.05). The differences in BW180 and ADG between DD pigs and both CD and CC pigs were significant (P < 0.05), and the DD pigs had a significantly higher body weight on day 45 (BW45) and on day 70 (BW70) than CC pigs (P < 0.05). All measured growth traits, except for body weight at birth (BWB), showed higher values in DD pigs. The D allele had a favorable positive effect on growth traits. Thus POU1F1 is a potential major gene or marker for growth traits.