Abstract
Muscle growth is an energetically demanding process that is reliant on intramuscular fatty acid depots in most fishes. The complex mechanisms regulating this growth and lipid metabolism are of great interest for human health and aquaculture applications. It is well established that the skeletal muscle chalone, myostatin, plays a role in lipid metabolism and adipogenesis in mammals; however, this function has not been fully assessed in fishes. We therefore examined the interaction between dietary lipid levels and myostatin expression in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Five weeks of high-fat diet (HFD; 25 % lipid) intake increased white muscle lipid content and decreased circulating glucose levels and hepatosomatic index when compared to low-fat diet (LFD; 10 % lipid) intake. In addition, HFD intake reduced myostatin-1a and myostatin-1b expression in white muscle and myostatin-1b expression in brain tissue. Characterization of the myostatin-1a, myostatin-1b, and myostatin-2a promoters revealed putative binding sites for a subset of transcription factors associated with lipid metabolism. Taken together, these data suggest that HFD may regulate myostatin expression through cis-regulatory elements sensitive to increased lipid intake. Further, these findings provide a framework for future investigations of mechanisms describing the relationships between myostatin and lipid metabolism in fish.