Effect of dietary taurine in the performance of broodstock and larvae of California yellowtail Seriola dorsalis

Abstract

The roles of dietary taurine on fish reproductive output and larval development remain poorly understood. A 2-year experiment was conducted where broodstock where fed a taurine-supplemented (2.67% dry diet) or non-supplemented (0.28% dry diet, control) diet, and larvae were fed taurine-enriched or standard-enriched prey, resulting in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Buoyancy, fertilization rate, and fecundity were the main drivers in characterizing eggs from each broodstock group. All these metrics were improved in the taurine-supplemented treatment. Newly-hatched larvae from the taurine-supplemented broodstock had significantly larger yolk-sac volume and 53% more likely to survive to 1st-feeding than those from the control broodstock. All larvae from the control broodstock and fed the control larval diet died by 15 dph, highlighting the essentiality of taurine in this species. However, 30 dph larvae from the treatment where both broodstock and larvae received supplemental taurine were significantly shorter and lighter than those from the other treatments. In conclusion, these results support the importance of dietary taurine in reproductive performance in yellowtail broodstock. Further research is necessary to better understand the interaction between supplementation in broodstock and larval diets.