Plicatilis Strains Research Articles

Population Growth of Six Iranian Brachionus Rotifer Strains in Response to Salinity and Food Type

AbstractIntrinsic rates of population increase (r) were evaluated as a measure of population dynamics of four strains of Brachionus plicatilis and two strains of B. urceolaris from Iran in response to different salinities and feeding algae. Each rotifer strain was cultured at four salinities: 5, 20, 25 and 30‰ and fed with two microalgal species: Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis oculata. Salinity of 5‰ was critical for all the examined strains, at which r was at minimum and was different from the other salinities (P < 0.05). For B. plicatilis strains, the maximum r was observed in those fed on Chlorella at salinities of 10 and 30‰ (64 ± 0.01 day−1). While, in B. urceolaris, maximum r was for Nannochloropsis fed rotifers at salinity of 20‰ (0.69 ± 0.01 day−1). Maximum final population density (FD) was obtained for a strain of B. urceolaris fed on Nannochloropsis at 20‰ (329.3 ± 10.9 ind.mL−1). FD was relatively lower in B. plicatilis strains among all examined salinities. ANOVA showed the significant effect of salinity and rotifer strain, and algae × rotifer strain on both r and FD, and salinity × rotifer × algae on FD (P < 0.05). (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Cross-mating of euryhaline rotifer Brachionus plicatilis strains as a means to develop useful strains for larval fish food

In the field of live food science, newly inbred strains resulting from cross-mating are of interest, especially if these strains have valuable characteristics, such as high fecundity or suitable size for the mouth of larvae. We conducted cross-mating trials using Japanese and German strains of Brachionus plicatilis and reproductive parameters were characterized and compared among their progenies. Two hybrid strains A and B were obtained from the cross-mating between a Japanese female and German male, and between a German female and Japanese male, respectively. Percent mictic female production and fertilization in both hybrid strains were lower (0%), compared with the parental strains (16.7–78.4%). Strain A did not reproduce sexually, but was capable of asexual reproduction. Higher population growth was observed in the hybrid strains within crosses relative to parents. The population growth rates of parental strains were 0.31, while those of hybrid strains ranged from 0.35 to 0.37. Lorica length of hybrid strains was intermediate between the two parental strains. Using the cross-mating technique, it may be possible to produce new rotifer strains with phenotypes useful to aquaculturists.

Fertilization between rotifer Brachionus plicatilis strains at different temperatures

Fertilization between rotifer Brachionus plicatilis strains at different temperatures

Low-temperature preservation (at 4 °C) of marine rotifer Brachionus

Mass production of rotifers is essential as live food during the larval rearing season, but a major problem of rotifer culture is unpredictable culture collapse. If mass-produced rotifers could be kept alive at low temperature for an extended period of time, they could be supplied as live food to cultured marine fish larvae without interruption. Four experiments were performed to test this possibility in six strains of Brachionus plicatilis O. F. Muller and eight strains of Brachionus rotundiformis Tschugunoff. The results showed that: (1) B. rotundiformis strains were less tolerant to 4 ∞C than B. plicatilis strains. Among the B. rotundiformis strains, the strains known as SS type were the most susceptible and showed the lowest survival. (2) Exchange of culture media during the incubation at 4 ∞ Ci nB. plicatilis and B. rotundiformis resulted in higher survival than not changing the culture media, but there were no differences in the regression slope with or without changing the culture media. (3) Acclimation at 15 ∞C for 96 h for B. plicatilis and B. rotundiformis before transfer to 4 ∞C resulted in higher survival rates than acclim- ation at 10 ∞C. (4) The combination of frequent exchange of culture media and acclimation sig- nificantly improved the survival of B. plicatilis and B. rotundiformis compared with controls that were maintained at 4 ∞C without exchange of the culture media. Large-scale trials using B. plicatilis (Kamiura strain) cultured in 30-L tanks were conducted in a hatchery at a density of 2000-20 000 individuals mL -1 . Rotifers were transferred directly from 25 ∞C to 4 ∞C. About 50% of the rotifers at 20 000 individuals mL -1 survived after 14 days at 4 ∞C. These preserved rotifers could be cultured at 20 ∞C, recovering within 4 days.

Sex, population dynamics and resting egg production in rotifers

The interaction between sexual reproduction and population growth in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis was examined using exponential and logistic growth models. A computer simulation was used to explore the effects of the frequency of sex and the proportion of a female's daughters reproducing sexually on population growth rate and resting egg production. Within the parameters of the simulation, the proportion of sexual daughters required for maximum resting egg production increased as the frequency of sex decreased. Adding density-dependence to the model also shifted this optimum towards a higher proportion of sexual daughters. When population growth was unconstrained by density, the optimum proportion of sexual daughters varied between 10–50%, depending on the frequency of sex. This compares to 25–64% when the greatest density restraints were applied at K = 500 females. As the population growth rate (r) increases, the optimum proportion of sexual daughters increases nonlinearly and these effects are exaggerated as sex becomes less frequent. A compilation of published data from laboratory populations of four Brachionus plicatilis strains reveals that the average proportion of sexual daughters in 21% and in close agreement with that predicted by simulation. The limitations of the simulation and its generalizability to other rotifers are discussed.