Freeze-dried bovine colostrum as a source of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus, Holmberg, 1887) and dourado (Salminus brasiliensis, Cuvier, 1816) marker macromolecules

• Grant number: 11/51713-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Raul Machado Neto
• Grantee: Débora Botéquio Moretti
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In this study, antibodies present in the lyophilized bovine colostrum will be used as biomarkers to study the mechanisms of bioactive macromolecules absorption in the posterior intestine of pacu and dourado. There will also be investigated cytological and morphological aspects of the intestinal epithelium related to protein degradation as well as the influence of intake of this milk secretion on the fluctuation of fish serum antibodies. It is a research proposal of the absorption capacity of macromolecules with biological activity intact by the fish posterior intestine. It is an investigation into the use of lyophilized bovine colostrum as a source of biomarker macromolecules and also as a model administration of biologically active molecules to the diet of fish. Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus Holmberg, 1887) and gold (Salminus brasiliensis Cuvier, 1816) fry will be distributed randomly in a 3x2x2 factorial design (12 fish per treatment) corresponding to the experimental diets (control, 10 and 20% inclusion of LBC), the sampling dates (30 and 60 days after the beginning of the trial) and the feeding habits (omnivores and ichthyophagous). The animals will be fed twice a day until apparent satiation. On the sampling dates blood samples will be collected from the tail veín for measurement of total protein, albumin, o-globulin, D-globulin, D-globulin and bovine IgG. The intestine of four animals will be obtained and divided into medium intestine and rectum, the first subdivided into two segments, a cranial and other intermediary. These samples will be analyzed for enzyme activity and histological by light microscopy and ultrastructural features by transmission electron microscopy. (AU)