Dietary nanoselenium supplementation for heat-stressed rainbow trout: effects on organizational structure, lipid changes, and biochemical parameters as well as heat-shock-protein- and selenoprotein-related gene expression

Abstract

Nanoselenium (nano-Se) shows unique protective effects against environmental heat stress in rainbow trout as a selenium source additive and free radical scavenger. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of supplementation with different levels of nano-Se (0, 5, and 10 mg/kg) and before and after heat stress (24°C) for different treatment times on the dynamic changes of rainbow trout liver tissue structure, lipid changes, biochemical properties, and gene expression. The results showed that, under heat stress, the fish supplementation of 5 mg/kg nano-Se significantly increased liver glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and upregulated expression levels of HSP70b, HSP90a1, GPx1a, and Trx mRNAs, while liver alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels as well as tissue structure damage and lipid accumulation were decreased. Combining the trends for the above indicators indicated that stress began to increase significantly at 8 h. It can be concluded that supplementation with 5 mg/kg nano-Se effectively alleviates stress damage in rainbow trout. Furthermore, stress at 24°C for 8 h can be thought of as a critical time point for the study of heat stress in rainbow trout, with significant changes in response but no serious damage. Thus, these results provide a reference for the addition of nano-Se to rainbow trout feed and provide theoretical and practical guidance for enhancing the resistance of rainbow trout to heat stress.