Interaction between Dietary Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K3 in Gilthead Seabream Larvae (Sparus aurata) in Relation to Growth and Expression of Bone Development-Related Genes

Vitamins D and K are essential fat-soluble nutrients that intervene in bone development processes among other biological functions. The present study is aimed at investigating the potential combined effect of dietary supplementation with vitamin D-3 (cholecalciferol) and vitamin K-3 (menadione) in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) larvae. For that purpose, seabream diets were supplemented with different combinations of vitamin D-3/vitamin K-3 (mg/kg diet) as follows: 0.00/0, 0.06/70, 0.06/170, 0.13/70, 0.13/170, 0.40/70, and 0.40/170. Feeding gilthead seabream larvae (22 days post hatch) for 21 days with the diets supplemented with 0.06-0.13 mg/kg vitamin D-3 and 70 mg/kg vitamin K-3 (diets 0.06/70 and 0.13/70) led to the highest larval growth and survival and the highest expression of important biomarkers of both bone development and health, such as bmp2, osx, and mgp, and calcium homeostasis, such as pthrp and casr. However, the increased supplementation with both vitamins at 0.40 mg/kg vitamin D-3 and 170 mg/kg vitamin K-3 (diet 0.40/170) reduced larval growth and survival, downregulated bmp2 and pthrp expressions, and upregulated osx and mgp, causing an unbalance in the relative expression of these genes. The results of the present study have shown the interaction between vitamin D-3 supplementation and vitamin K-3 supplementation in larval performance and gene expression related to bone development and calcium homeostasis, denoting the significance of a correct balance between both vitamins in larval diets.

Automated summary

The study investigates the combined effect of vitamin D-3 and vitamin K-3 supplementation in gilthead seabream larvae. Results show that supplementation with 0.06-0.13 mg/kg vitamin D-3 and 70 mg/kg vitamin K-3 promotes larval growth and survival, and enhances the expression of genes related to bone development and calcium homeostasis. However, excessive supplementation of these vitamins leads to reduced larval growth and survival, and imbalanced gene expression. Therefore, maintaining a proper balance between these vitamins in larval diets is crucial.