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Sustained swimming improves muscle growth and cellularity in gilthead sea bream

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Abstract

Two groups of juvenile gilthead sea bream were kept on two different swimming regimes (Exercise, E: 1.5 body length s−1 or Control, C: voluntary activity) for 1 month. All fish were first adapted to an experimental diet low in protein and rich in digestible carbohydrates (37.2% protein, 40.4% carbohydrates, 12.5% lipid). The cellularity and capillarisation of white muscle from two selected areas (cranial (Cr), below the dorsal fin, and caudal (Ca), behind the anal fin) were compared. The body weight and specific growth rate (SGR) of group E rose significantly without an increment in feed intake, pointing to higher nutrient-use efficiency. The white muscle fibre cross-sectional area and the perimeter of cranial samples increased after sustained activity, evidencing that sustained exercise enhances hypertrophic muscle development. However, we cannot conclude or rule out the possibility of fibre recruitment because the experimental period was too short. In the control group, capillarisation, which is extremely low in gilthead sea bream white muscle, showed a significantly higher number of fibres with no surrounding capillaries (F0) in the cranial area than in the caudal area, unlike the exercise group. Sustained swimming improved muscle machinery even in tissue normally associated with short bouts of very rapid anaerobic activity. So, through its effect on the use of tissue reserves and nutrients, exercise contributes to improvements in fish growth what can contribute to reducing nitrogen losses.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Catalan government and the Spanish government Ministry of Culture. O. Felip and M. Martín-Pérez received fellowships from FPI-2007 and FI-2007 of the Spanish government and the Catalan government, respectively. The authors thank David Rizo for his technical assistance in processing muscle samples and Dr. Ginés Viscor and Dr. Martín Rios for their valuable contribution in editing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Fisiologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avd. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Ibarz, Olga Felip, Jaume Fernández-Borràs, Miguel Martín-Pérez, Josefina Blasco & Joan R. Torrella

  2. Xarxa de Referència de Recerca i Desenvolupament en Aqüicultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, XRAq, Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Ibarz, Olga Felip, Jaume Fernández-Borràs, Miguel Martín-Pérez, Josefina Blasco & Joan R. Torrella

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  1. Antoni Ibarz
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  2. Olga Felip
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  4. Miguel Martín-Pérez
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  5. Josefina Blasco
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  6. Joan R. Torrella
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Correspondence to Antoni Ibarz.

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Communicated by G. Heldmaier.

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Ibarz, A., Felip, O., Fernández-Borràs, J. et al. Sustained swimming improves muscle growth and cellularity in gilthead sea bream. J Comp Physiol B 181, 209–217 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-010-0516-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-010-0516-4

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