Interpretive Summary: Transcriptomic and biochemical analyses revealed the improved growth, lipid metabolism, and flesh quality of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) by dietary Eucommia ulmoides bark and leaf supplementation

By: Hang Yang, Zhen Xu, Xiaoying Xu, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Xiaoqin Li, Xiangjun Leng

As a traditional herb, Eucommia ulmoides (E. ulmoides) has been utilized in East Asia for at least 2 000 years. In recent years, E. ulmoides has been applied in the culture of fish for its functions of promoting growth, lipid metabolism, and flesh quality. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of improving growth, lipid metabolism, and flesh quality is not well understood. Our study showed that the improvement of flesh quality is the combined effect of antioxidant capacity, muscle texture, water-holding capacity, and nutritional composition. Additionally, several potential pathways and differentially expressed genes were identified through RNA sequencing to further study the improvement mechanism of dietary E. ulmoides bark and leaf supplementation on growth, lipid metabolism, and flesh quality in fish.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.