Fig 1.
Schematic diagram outlining the experiments used to determine the effects of n-3 and n-6 LC-PUFA from AL and ARASCO on L. vannamei PLs.
Created in BioRender. Wimuttisuk, W. (2025) https://BioRender.com/nknnhk8.
Table 1.
Fatty acid compositions and total fatty acid (TFA) contents (% dry weight) of PL1 shrimp before the experiment and PL18 supplemented with varying ratios of DHA:ARA.
Fig 2.
Growth performance analysis of PL18 fed with Artemia enriched with graded ratios of DHA:ARA from AL and ARASCO, respectively.
PL18, which had previously been fed with Artemia containing different ratios of n-3 and n-6 LC-PUFAs, were examined for their (A) biomass in g per tank, (B) length, (C) average wet body weight, (D) average dried body weight, (E) FCR determined from the feed weight, (F) survival rate, and (G) percent coefficient of size variation. Error bars represent the standard deviation of the averaged data from the tank replicates (N = 3). Data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA with DMRT. Different letters above the bar graphs indicate significant differences between feed groups (P < 0.05).
Fig 3.
Transcription levels of immune genes in PL18 fed with Artemia with varying ratios of n-3:n-6 LC-PUFA supplementation.
L. vannamei PL18 that has previously been fed with Artemia with no supplementation (Group R) and Artemia supplemented with n-3:n-6 at 100:0 (Group A), 75:25 (Group B), 50:50 (Group C), 25:75 (Group D), and 0:100 (Group E) ratios were homogenized under liquid N2 and subjected to RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis. Expression levels of (A) ProPO-I, (B) ProPO-II, (C) ppA, (D) PEN3a, and (E) SOD relative to EF1α were determined using the qPCR analysis. The differences in transcription levels of shrimp immune genes among all feed groups were determined using ANOVA with DMRT and designated by different letters above the bar graphs (P < 0.05).
Fig 4.
The UPLC-HRMS/MS analysis of PL samples fed with enriched Artemia.
Levels of (A) PGF2α, (B) 15d-PGJ2, (C) 8-HETE, (D) 11-HETE, (E) 12-HETE, (F) 5-HEPE, (G) 8-HEPE, (H) 12-HEPE, and (I) 18-HEPE from PLs in each feed group were quantified using the standard curve method. Error bars represent standard deviations, and different letters indicate statistically significant differences in the eicosanoid levels as determined by ANOVA using DMRT (P < 0.05).
Fig 5.
Effects of pathogenic infection in PLs fed with enriched Artemia.
PLs were challenged with (A) WSSV and (B) V. harveyi. Error bars represent the standard deviation of the averaged data from the tank replicates (N = 3). Statistically significant differences were determined by ANOVA using Dunnett’s test to compare all LC-PUFA supplemented groups with the control group (* for P < 0.05 and ** for P < 0.01).
Fig 6.
A proposed model on the impact of DHA and ARA supplementation on L. vannamei health.
Created in BioRender. Wimuttisuk, W. (2025) https://BioRender.com/2bugr6t. Arrows pointing up indicate increasing levels of the designated metabolites, immune gene transcripts, biomass, body weight, or activation of specific pathways. An arrow pointing down indicates decreasing levels of WSSV copy number.