Massive Hepatic Necrosis and Nodular Regeneration in Largemouth Bass Fed Diets High in Available Carbohydrate

Abstract

AbstractLargemouth bass Micropterus salmoides are piscivorous fish raised on farms then sold live in Asian fish markets on the east and west coasts of the United States. In the winter of 1998, a major producer of feed‐trained bass suffered a significant increase in fish mortality both during shipping and while the fish were still in ponds. No bacterial, viral, or significant parasitic pathogens were found at necropsy. Livers of affected fish were pale and translucent with 3–10 mm pink nodules on their surface and deeper in the parenchyma. Histological examination of these livers showed that the translucent regions of the liver contained few hepatocytes and were composed of tissue consistent with a chronic inflammatory response. Also present were eosinophils, islands of pancreatic and biliary cells, and granulomas that did not stain positively for mycobacteria. The pink nodules were areas of multifocal regeneration of normal hepatocytes. Sequential studies of bass in ponds revealed that the bass were progressively accumulating glycogen in their hepatocytes to an extent sufficient to explain the massive necrosis of that organ. In order to determine the effect of diets varying in available carbohydrate on fish growth, survival, and liver glycogen content, a 12‐wk feeding trial was conducted in aquaria with juvenile largemouth bass. Nitrogen‐free extract values indicated that an extruded trout diet, a steelhead trout diet, and a diet designed to contain 45% protein and 25% fat, contained 35, 27, and 21% carbohydrate, respectively. Weight gain was lowest in fish fed the extruded trout diet, while liver glycogen was significantly higher in fish fed diets with >27% carbohydrate than in fish fed the diet with 21% carbohydrate. The farmer switched to a diet similar to the 45–25 diet used in our trial. Subsequently, 16‐mo‐old fish examined in October 2000 had no hepatic nodules or necrosis, were significantly larger and less variable in size than previous crops, and the farmer experienced no significant losses in ponds or during shipping.