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The effect of dietary sodium chloride on some osmoregulatory parameters of the teleost, Oreochromis niloticus, after transfer from freshwater to seawater

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Abstract

The aim of this work was to determine the effects of supplemental dietary sodium chloride on salt water acclimation of tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Fish were fed a basal diet supplemented with NaCl (8%) during three weeks in fresh water (FW) and then transferred to salt water (SW) at 15 and 20‰. Changes in plasma osmolality, chloride ion concentration (Cl−), plasma level of cortisol and gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity were measured at 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 168 h after transfer to 15‰SW, while the higher strength SW group (20‰) was only monitored up to 24 h. Morphological changes in the gill mitochondria-rich (MR) cells were examined in relation to environmental salinity. The changes associated with dietary NaCl were sporadic and of small magnitude. The plasma osmolality and Cl− increased immediately after transfer up to 12–24 h, but fish fed dietary salt (S) showed lower values than the control group (C). The S group showed higher plasma levels of cortisol than the control, which maintained its initial levels during the experiment. Gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity of the S group began to increase in the first hours after transfer, reaching maximum at 12 h and returned to basal level at 24 h, while the control group maintained basal levels. The differences between gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity of S and C fish were significant (p < 0.05) at 12 h. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that MR cells in SW show more mitochondria and a more developed tubular system arising from the basolateral membrane. The MR cells of both groups frequently formed a multicellular complex in SW, consisting of a main MR and one or more accessory cells. Such complexes are rarely observed in FW. Some MR cells of fish fed supplemented dietary salt displayed convex apical membrane in FW.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro-ICETA, Apt. 202, 5000-911, Vila Real, Portugal

    A. Fontaínhas-Fernandes

  2. ICBAS and CIMAR, Lg Prof. Abel Salazar n° 2, 4000, Porto, Portugal

    F. Russell-Pinto, Emídio Gomes, Ma.A. Reis-Henriques & João Coimbra

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Fontaínhas-Fernandes, A., Russell-Pinto, F., Gomes, E. et al. The effect of dietary sodium chloride on some osmoregulatory parameters of the teleost, Oreochromis niloticus, after transfer from freshwater to seawater. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 23, 307–316 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011156806524

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