Regulation of Food Intake in Fish (Body Adiposity and Hormonal Network)

许多鱼类的生活史，如七鳃鳗、鲟鱼和鲑鱼，都包括长时间的自愿禁食。这些时期通常与上游洄游到河流和产卵同时发生，可能持续几个月，之后鱼类要么恢复进食，要么死亡。尽管进行了许多尝试，但仍然不知道是什么生态或生理信号抑制了食物摄入，然后在某些鱼类中再次启动食物摄入。该项目的目的是研究鱼类食物摄入是否与代谢线索有关，主要是与身体肥胖有关，还是由神经肽Y、胰岛素、瘦素和胰高血糖素样肽等激素协调网络控制。预期的结果将扩展非哺乳动物脊椎动物食欲和食物摄入调节的基础知识。所提出的工作的实际应用可能最终为养鱼者提供优化喂养制度的工具，从而优化食物利用和身体组成。反过来，这将减少鱼类食物的花费，尽可能地防止过早性成熟的身体脂肪依赖现象，同时允许为人类生产健康的食物来源。

The life histories of a number of fish species such as lamprey, sturgeon, and salmon include prolonged periods of voluntary fasting. These periods, usually coincident with an upstream migration to the rivers and spawning, may last for several months after which the fish either restore feeding or expire. Despite many attempts, it remains unknown what ecological or physiological signals suppress food intake and later, in some fish species, initiate it again. The purpose of this project is to investigate whether fish food intake is linked to metabolic cues, primarily to body adiposity or controlled by coordinated network of hormones such as neuropeptide Y, insulin, leptin and glucagon-like peptide. The expected results will expand the basic knowledge of regulation of appetite and food intake in non-mammalian vertebrates. The practical application of the proposed work may eventually give fish culturists a tool for optimizing feeding regimes and, consequently, food utilization and body composition. This, in turn, will diminish expenses of fish food, prevent as much as possible the body fat dependent phenomenon of early sexual maturation, and at the same time permit production of healthful food sources for humans.