Morphological and functional description of the development of the digestive system in meagre (Argyrosomus regius): An integrative approach

The morphological and functional development of the digestive system in meagre ( Argyrosomus regius, Asso, 1801) was described by means of histological and enzymatic approaches in order to provide insight into the digestive physiology of the species at early life stages of development and evaluate whether the acquisition of digestive capacities matched the morphological development of digestive organs. For this purpose, A. regius were reared from hatching to the juvenile stage at 18 °C using a standard feeding sequence of enriched rotifers (2–15 days posthatching, dph), Artemia metanauplii (14–51 dph) and microdiet (35–51 dph). Histological and enzymatic analyses indicated that A. regius larvae had at the onset of exogenous feeding (2 dph, 3.2 ± 0.1 mm in standard length, SL) a well differentiated exocrine pancreas, and bile salt-activated lipase and alkaline proteases being the main pancreatic enzymes involved in food digestion. Ontogenic changes in pancreatic enzymes occurred between 3.2 and 3.9 mm in SL, coinciding with the resorption of the oil globule and the complete transition to exogenous feeding, and between 4.2 and 5.8 mm in SL (20–25 dph). Regarding acid digestion, pepsin was not detected in A. regius until 6.0 and 6.8 mm in SL (31 dph), coinciding with notochord flexion and the progressive decrease in the activity of alkaline protease and leucine-alanine peptidase (intestinal cytosolic enzyme) activities, indicating a shift in the mode of digestion. The detection of pepsin activity in A. regius occurred after the appearance of the first gastric glands (4.6 and 5.8 mm SL). Thus, authors need to be cautious when extracting conclusions about the beginning of acid digestion and the onset of weaning of larvae just using histological data, since it has been shown that morphology does not match functionality with regards to the stomach. The comparison of present results with other studies conducted in this species using different rearing conditions ( e.g. mesocosm technique, larval density, water temperature, feeding sequence) indicated that the functional development of the digestive system in A. regius assessed by the activity of alkaline and acid proteases is a well-conserved process that generally occurs within a range of body size regardless of larval age and rearing conditions. Thus, authors recommend using morphometric and/or morphological variables ( e.g. length, developmental stage) together with the age of larvae expressed in days after hatching for comparative purposes among different studies. Statement of relevance The morphological and functional development of the digestive system in meagre ( Argyrosomus regius ) was described by means of histological and enzymatic approaches in order to provide insight into the digestive physiology of the species at early life stages of development. Combining histological and enzymatic analytical procedures we evidenced that stomach's functionality did not match its morphological organization, since pepsin activity was not detected until some days after the appearance of the first gastric glands. This indicates that authors need to be cautious when extracting conclusions about the beginning of acid digestion and the onset of weaning of larvae just using histological data.