FoN Zf Feed
The SFI "Foods of Norway" is developing experimental diets for farm animals and fish using sustainable local feed ingredients to reduce the reliance on imported feed ingredients. These experimental diets contain varying levels of protein derived from yeast that are produced from sugars, other nutrients derived from natural resources such as wood and seaweed, and other ingredients with potential growth enhancing properties. The goal of Foods of Norway is to evaluate the potential of new, yeast-based diets to replace at least partially currently used soybean-based feeds, and to evaluate the health beneficial properties reported for certain yeast strains. The diet ingredients to be tested are: 10 diets to be evaluated with respect to their effects on growth (6 test diets and 4 control diets including 1 standard zebrafish diet), 5 diets to be evaluated with respect to their effects on gut inflammation (4 diets incorporating LPS to induce gut inflammation and 1 control diet that is a standard zebrafish diet), and 5 diets to be evaluated with respect to their effects on metabolic syndrome (4 high-fat diets and 1 control diet that is a standard zebrafish diet). Some ingredients will be tested by an immersion protocol prior to formulating them into diets.
It is expected that zebrafish fed diets incorporating LPS or soy protein will experience mild to moderate enteritis that will cause mild to moderate discomfort for the zebrafish eating these diets.
The purpose of this project will be to compare the performance of 20 diets in zebrafish with regard to their potential effects on growth, gut inflammation, and metabolic syndrome.
Wild-type zebrafish (n=3150) will be fed for 2, 4, or 8 weeks beginning at 8-10 weeks of age. Zebrafish sacrificed at these timepoints will be measured and weighed, gut morphology will be evaluated through histological analysis of tissue sections, and gene expression analysis will be performed by qPCR using a panel of molecular markers of inflammation and gut health.
Based on the results of this experiment, future studies of yeast-based diets in zebrafish will be designed accordingly to minimize the number of animals used in each study. It is expected that the effective screening in zebrafish will greatly enhance the identification of the health-related bioactivity of diets. The benefit will be that fewer diets (but with a known bioactive profile) are tested in production animals and fish. This will reduce the number of large animal experiments that need to be performed.
It is expected that zebrafish fed diets incorporating LPS or soy protein will experience mild to moderate enteritis that will cause mild to moderate discomfort for the zebrafish eating these diets.
The purpose of this project will be to compare the performance of 20 diets in zebrafish with regard to their potential effects on growth, gut inflammation, and metabolic syndrome.
Wild-type zebrafish (n=3150) will be fed for 2, 4, or 8 weeks beginning at 8-10 weeks of age. Zebrafish sacrificed at these timepoints will be measured and weighed, gut morphology will be evaluated through histological analysis of tissue sections, and gene expression analysis will be performed by qPCR using a panel of molecular markers of inflammation and gut health.
Based on the results of this experiment, future studies of yeast-based diets in zebrafish will be designed accordingly to minimize the number of animals used in each study. It is expected that the effective screening in zebrafish will greatly enhance the identification of the health-related bioactivity of diets. The benefit will be that fewer diets (but with a known bioactive profile) are tested in production animals and fish. This will reduce the number of large animal experiments that need to be performed.