An examination of the intestinal tract of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., parr fed different varieties of soy and maize

This study was conducted to investigate the long-term effects of feeding plant products from both traditional breeding and from biotechnology on intestinal somatic indices, histology and cell proliferation in first-feeding Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. (initial weight 0.21 +/- 0.02 g). A standard fishmeal diet (standard fishmeal) was formulated to contain fishmeal as the sole protein source and suprex maize as the main starch source. Six experimental diets were then developed: two in which some of the fishmeal was replaced with commercially available, genetically modified Roundup Ready(R) full-fat soybean meal (GM-soy) or commercially available, non-GM full-fat soybean meal (nGM-soy) at a level of 12.5% of the total diet, and four diets in which the suprex maize was replaced with two lines of GM-maize (Dekalb 1; D1 and Pioneer 1; P1), both products of event MON810, and their half-sibling non-GM counterparts (Dekalb 2; D2 and Pioneer 2; P2), at a level of 12.1% of total diet. Each diet was fed to fish in triplicate tanks and the experiment lasted for 8 months, during which the fish reached a final weight of 101-116 g. There was no significant effect of diet on the intestinal indices, nor were histological changes observed in the pyloric caeca or mid intestine. In the distal intestine, one of nine sampled fish fed nGM-soy showed moderate changes, two of nine sampled fish fed GM-soy showed changes, one with moderate and one with severe changes, and two of nine fish fed nGM-maize D2 had moderate changes. Using a monoclonal antibody against proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cell proliferative responses to the experimental diets were assessed. In fish fed both soy diets, a significantly higher (P < 0.05) cell proliferation response was observed in the distal intestine concomitant with an increased localization of PCNA positive cells along the whole distal intestinal folds. The PCNA response among the nGM-soy group was significantly higher compared with all the other diet groups. In contrast, for fish exposed to dietary maize (type D) compared with fish fed the standard fishmeal, the soy-diets (GM-soy and nGM-soy) and maize (type P), a significantly lower (P < 0.05) cell proliferation response was observed in the distal intestine. Results indicated that the GM plant products investigated in this study, at about 12% inclusion level, were as safe as commercially available non-GM products, at least in terms of their effect on indices and histological parameters of the Atlantic salmon intestinal tract.