Exposure to an acute hypoxic stimulus during early life affects the expression of glucose metabolism-related genes at first-feeding in trout

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is considered a “glucose-intolerant” species. With the aim of programming trout to improve their metabolic use of dietary carbohydrates, we hypothesised that a hypoxic stimulus applied during embryogenesis could later affect glucose metabolism at the first-feeding stage. An acute hypoxic stimulus (2.5 or 5.0 mg·L(−1) O(2)) was applied for 24 h to non-hatched embryos or early hatched alevins followed by a challenge test with a high carbohydrate diet at first-feeding. The effectiveness of the early hypoxic stimulus was confirmed by the induction of oxygen-sensitive markers such as egln3. At first-feeding, trout previously subjected to the 2.5 mg·L(−1) O(2) hypoxia displayed a strong induction of glycolytic and glucose transport genes, whereas these glucose metabolism-related genes were affected much less in trout subjected to the less severe (5.0 mg·L(−1) O(2)) hypoxia. Our results demonstrate that an acute hypoxic stimulus during early development can affect glucose metabolism in trout at first-feeding.