Activin A affects feeding by promoting the inner diameter and muscle development of the pharynx and oesophagus in zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) larvae

Abstract

Activin A belongs to the superfamily of transforming growth factor‐β and plays an important role in hormone regulation and tissue development. However, few research studies have been conducted on the effect of activin A on feeding organs in fish. In this study, the zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) larvae were treated with 1 ng ml –1 activin A for 8 days continuously. The haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining section results revealed that the transverse inner diameter of the pharynx and oesophagus significantly increased on the third and eighth days after treatment compared with the control group ( P 2 compared to the control group ( P in situ hybridization results also showed that the expression of skeletal muscle‐specific genes ( myog and myod ) was significantly increased in pharyngeal muscle on the eighth day. Furthermore, the qRT‐PCR results showed the expression of gh gene was significantly increased on the eighth day ( P Artemia ) than in the control group on the eighth day. In conclusion, activin A could affect feeding by promoting the inner diameter and muscle development of the pharynx and oesophagus in zebrafish larvae. This study is the first to report that the development of the pharynx and oesophagus can directly affect food intake in fish larvae, which provides a theoretical basis for the study of food intake of fish at an early stage.

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