Impacts of ammonia stress on different Pacific whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei families and the underlying adaptive mechanisms

Ammonia stress in aquaculture systems poses a great threat to the growth and survival of the Pacific whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. Although the ammonia stress tolerance capacity of L. vannamei has been found to vary significantly among different breeding families, the underneath mechanisms are still largely unknown. In this study, the ammonia tolerance capacity of different L. vannamei breeding families was compared. Results confirmed the significant differences in the ammonia adaptability among different families. To ascertain the underlying adaptive strategies, ATP status, ATP synthase activity, expression and activities of ammonia excretion and metabolism-related enzymes, and apoptosis in shrimp gills were analyzed. Furthermore, transcriptomic analyses were also performed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms. Our results indicated that ammonia-tolerant L. vannamei may possess (1) enhanced ability to excrete ammonia, (2) better capacity to convert ammonia into less toxic products, and (3) sufficient energy reserves for ammonia-compensating processes.