Effects of Dietary Phospholipid and Cholesterol Levels on Growth, Molting Performance, and Ovary Development in Female Juvenile Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)

Abstract

The interaction between phospholipid (PL) and cholesterol (CH) on growth performance, molting rate, hepatopancreas fatty acid composition, and ovary development of the female red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) was investigated. Nine diets containing three PL levels (0, 20, and 60 g/kg) and three CH levels (0, 5, and 10 g/kg) were included in the study. Female crayfish (initial weight: $5.92\pm 0.03$  g) were reared for 60 days. There was no significant interaction between dietary PL and CH levels ( $P>0.05$ ). However, the best growth performance and ovarian development were observed in crayfish receiving the 60 g/kg PL and 10 g/kg CH diet. High PL levels promoted CH transport in the hepatopancreas, and long-chain unsaturated fatty acid (C20:4n-6, C20:5n-3, and C22:6n-3) content of the hepatopancreas increased with the addition of PL in the diet. The molting rate increased with increasing CH levels in the diet containing 60 g/kg PL. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that dietary CH enhanced the molting rate by improving the ecdysone receptor genes at transcription. This study showed that crayfish fed a diet containing 10 g/kg CH and 60 g/kg PL obtained maximum growth, molting rate, and ovary development.