Egg protein bound amino acid content and embryo/larva success in common dentex (Dentex dentex), a marine pelagophil teleost

Abstract

This study represents the initial attempt to evaluate the effect of egg protein-bound amino acid (i.e., vitellogenin-derived PAAs) content on embryo/larva success in Dentex dentex. Viable eggs were obtained from a single female (i.e., intra-individual analysis) in captivity. Selected embryo/larva viability parameters (the egg floating rate, the hatching rate, and the larval survival rate at days 0 to 5 post-hatch) were determined. The egg batches were categorised in three groups (high-, medium-, and low-quality batches) based on the magnitude of their hatching rates. The protein-bound amino acid content of biometrically similar egg batches of varying quality was analysed. The content values for 12 protein-bound amino acids (i.e., essential PAAs: Thr, Met, Arg, Ile, Val, Phe, His; non-essential PAAs: Ala, Glu, Gly, Asp, and Ser) were significantly correlated with the embryo/larva viability parameters in an analysis performed in terms of their ratios. The egg protein-bound amino acid content was significantly correlated with the dentex larval survival rate at 3 and 5 days post-hatch, a critical period of survival that is problematic during the propagation of this species in captivity. The results of this study also offer statistical evidence for the effects of the interrelationships of the egg protein-bound amino acids on the relationships between the quantitative composition of the protein-bound amino acids and the viability parameters.