ABSTRACT The trypsin enzyme of white shrimp Penaeus vannamei is a polymorphic molecule, which longest isolated and sequenced cDNA encoded a pre-proenzyme of 255 amino acids. Three of the described sequences are translated in the digestive gland, and SDS-PAGE detects the isoforms. The three isoforms named C, B and A are distributed by an individual to originate three trypsin phenotypes (CBA, CB and CA) that have already been isolated and characterized by defining theirs biochemical and kinetical differences. The CBA phenotypes exerted higher hydrolytic capabilities than the others. The trypsin phenotypes are inherited in a Mendelian fashion, and external or internal factors do not modulate them. In commercial hatcheries in Sinaloa, México, the most abundant phenotype was CBA, followed by CB and CA. The following two hypotheses may explain this finding: phenotype CA is not chosen throughout the selection process of breeders because they do not fit the anatomical characteristics desired by professionals in aquaculture or it is possible that shrimps with the CA phenotype die during the early stages of development. Two experimental designs were developed trying to explain such hypotheses and, in both experiments, CA phenotype frequency declined to zero when shrimps reached around 5 g of body weight. So far, no evidence explains the mortality of juvenile shrimps with phenotype CA. Research is needed to explain why CA phenotypes disappeared, how the survival of this phenotype can be improved, and how to produce shrimps with the most hydrolytic capability in support of the shrimp aquaculture industry.

ABSTRACT In this work, we studied the digestibility, growth, blood chemistry, and enzyme activity of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) juveniles (0.95±0.18 g) using different animal (fish silage meal, whey meal, bovine blood meal, and red crab meal) and plant (extruded bean, extruded chickpea meal, coconut paste, Jatropha curcas meal, and chickpea meal) dietary byproducts. Nine isocaloric diets (321.92±9.10 kcal g−1) were evaluated for 60 days. The highest digestibility of crude protein values for animal and plant sources were obtained for the whey (93.6) and extruded bean meal (90.5) diets, respectively. The final body weight was higher for the red crab and extruded chickpea meal diets, meanwhile the fish silage and red crab byproducts obtained the highest protein efficiency ratio. Hematocrit was similar among the diets of each byproduct source and presented correlation with growth parameters. The highest glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride values were obtained for fish silage (138.0, 260.5, and 389.0 mg dL−1, respectively) and whey meal (174.5, 242.3, and 284.0 mg dL−1, respectively) groups. A positive correlation was found between the digestibility of crude protein of ingredients and chymotrypsin activity. Oreochromis niloticus is able to better utilize fish silage, whey, extruded bean, and extruded chickpea byproducts, adjusting its digestive physiology. Such ingredients can be used for formulating cheaper and efficient tilapia diets.

ABSTRACT The objective of our study was to assess the apparent digestibility of plant ingredients in diets for juvenile (50 g) and adult (220 g) Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Dietary dry matter and protein apparent digestibility coefficients of four plant-derived feedstuffs (chickpea, maize, high-quality maize protein, and beans) were tested. The beans diet had the lowest apparent digestibility coefficient of dry matter (ADCDM) (69.41%), while no significant differences were detected in ADCDM among the other diets; ADCDM was significantly higher in adults compared with juveniles (77.02 vs. 73.76%). Apparent dry matter digestibility coefficient of ingredients (ADCI) was significantly higher in the chickpea (70.48%) and high-quality protein maize (71.09%) ingredients, and lower in the beans (52.79%) ingredient. Apparent dry matter digestibility coefficient of ingredients was significantly higher in juveniles compared with adults (72.56 vs. 56.80%). The protein digestibility of diet (ADCCP) was significantly higher in the reference diet (93.68%), while the lowest corresponded to the maize (87.86%) and beans (87.29%) diets. Significantly lower apparent digestibility coefficient of protein (ADCICP ) was obtained with the high-quality maize protein (59.11%) and maize (49.48%) ingredients, while higher ADCICP was obtained with the chickpea and beans ingredients (71.31 and 63.89%, respectively). The apparent digestibility coefficient of ingredient crude protein ADCICP was significantly higher in juveniles compared with adults (67.35 vs. 53.46). Digestibility is generally higher in juveniles, and we recommend using chickpea as an ingredient in diets for Nile tilapia.