Effects of feeding poly-β-hydroxybutyrate enriched Artemia nauplii on the growth, digestibility and immunity of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) post-larvae

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding Artemia nauplii enriched with poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) on Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) post-larvae. A total 900 shrimp (initial average body weight: 2.50 ± 0.01 mg) were randomly distributed into 9 acrylic tanks (96 L) in triplicate groups. The Artemia reared in 0%, 0.25% and 0.50% PHB dissolved water (designated as Con, PHB25 and PHB50, respectively) were fed to the shrimp post-larvae for 14 days. The growth performance of shrimp was significantly higher in PHB25 and PHB50 groups than those in Con group. Survival was not significantly different among all the groups. Relative gene expressions of trypsin and amylase were significantly upregulated in PHB25 group than those of Con group. Relative gene expression of chymotrypsin was significantly upregulated in PHB25 and PHB50 groups compared to Con group. Relative gene expression of insulin-like growth factor-I was significantly upregulated in PHB25 group than in Con group. Relative gene expression of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein was significantly upregulated in both PHB25 and PHB50 groups than that of Con group. Relative expression of prophenoloxidase gene was significantly upregulated in PHB25 and PHB50 groups as compared to Con group. Relative expression of penaeidin-3a gene was significantly upregulated in PHB50 group as compared to Con group. This study demonstrated that PHB, as a functional nutritional enrichment for Artemia, improves the growth, digestibility and immunity of shrimp post-larvae.