Taurine synthesis via the cysteic acid pathway: effect of dietary cysteic acid on growth,body taurine content,and gene expression of taurine-synthesizing enzymes,growth hormone,and insulin-like growth factor 1 in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

Here, we investigated the effect of dietary cysteic acid on the growth performance, sulfur amino acid content, and gene expression levels of taurine-synthesizing enzymes, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Juvenile flounder (0.9 g) were fed one of four diets for 30 days: with 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0% cysteic acid (C0.25, C0.5, C1.0) supplementation and without supplementation (control). Fish in the C0.25 and C0.5 groups showed significantly better growth than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Body taurine content was significantly higher in C0.25, C0.5, and C1.0 fish than in control fish (P < 0.05). Although there was no significant difference in gene expression levels of taurine-synthesizing enzymes and GH among groups (P > 0.05), the expression level of IGF-1 in C1.0 fish was significantly higher than that in controls (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that Japanese flounder can synthesize taurine from cysteic acid, that dietary supplementation with up to 0.5% cysteic acid promotes fish growth, and that dietary cysteic acid can affect the GH-IGF axis in Japanese flounder. These findings thus highlight the importance of the cysteic acid pathway for taurine synthesis and growth in this species.