The effects of the dietary biotin on zebrafish Danio rerio reproduction

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary biotin on zebrafish Danio rerio reproduction. Biotin and avidin (biotin antagonist) were added to two isonitrogenous and isocaloric purified diets to provide molar avidin:biotin ratios of 0:1 (biotin-sufficient diet) and 120:0 (biotin-unsufficient diet). Each diet was fed to a group of males mean initial mass 0.262g) and a group of females (mean initial mass 0.285g) for 99days. Following this feeding period, males fed biotin-sufficient diet exhibited higher gonado-somatic index, sperm density, sperm motility and sperm viability than those fed biotin-unsufficient diet (P<0.05). In the presence of biotin-sufficient males, biotin-sufficient females spawned more eggs (222.2 eggs) than biotin-deficient females (18.8 eggs) (P <0.05). The same pattern was observed with biotin-deficient males (7.6 vs. 1.8 eggs) (P<0.05). Biotin-sufficient males generated a higher percentage of fertilized eggs (90% vs. 42%), hatching rate (62% vs. 27%), larvae survival (98% vs. 37%) and larvae length at 7days post fertilization (4.4mm vs. 4.2mm) than biotin-deficient males (P<0.05) . Biotin status of the male is of high consideration for successful breeding in zebrafish, because it significantly impacts the reproductive performances of the female.