Nutrient Composition of Ovary, Hepatopancreas and Muscle Tissues in Relation to Ovarian Development Stage of Female Swimming Crab, Portunus trituberculatus

SIMPLE SUMMARY: To clarify the specific nutritional needs for ovary maturation of the commercially important crab Portunus trituberculatus, we compared the biochemical composition of the ovary, hepatopancreas, and muscle at five ovarian developmental stages, and also analyzed their relation to the ovarian developmental stage of P. trituberculatus. We found that the branched-chain amino acids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, and monounsaturated fatty acids accumulated in the ovary and hepatopancreas, and positively correlated with the ovary maturation stage. Also, we found an increasing tendency of carotenoid and phosphatidylcholine in phospholipid from the pre-developmental stage to the proliferative stage in the ovary, but not in the hepatopancreas and muscle, indicating their crucial role for oocyte development. Our study suggests the involvement of these compositions in the broodstock diet, which will promote the ovarian maturation of adult P. trituberculatus and ensure high-quality larval production. ABSTRACT: The swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus is one of the most important economic species in China and its mature ovary often determines its commercial value and production. Although the ovary maturation of crustaceans is generally affected by exogenous nutrition, the specific nutritional needs of ovary maturation of P. trituberculatus are poorly understood. To this end, we collected the P. trituberculatus samples with five ovarian maturation stages and measured their biochemical composition of the ovary, hepatopancreas, and muscle at each ovarian developmental stage. We further analyzed their relation to the ovarian developmental stage of P. trituberculatus by principal components analysis (PCA). We found the levels of branched-chain amino acids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in the ovary and hepatopancreas increased during the ovary maturation process, and also passively correlated with ovarian developmental stage, which highlights the necessity of these specific nutrients for oogenesis and for improving the nutrient quality of crabs. In addition, we found an increasing tendency of carotenoid content and phosphatidylcholine in phospholipid in the ovary from the pre-developmental stage to the proliferative stage, but not in the hepatopancreas and muscle, which highlights the possible involvement of carotenoids during the rapid oocyte development process. Our study may provide valuable information for developing a suitable broodstock diet that promotes the ovarian maturation of adult P. trituberculatus and ensures high-quality larval production.