Cholecystokinin (CCK) in Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L.) - Ontogeny and effects of feeding and diurnal rhythms

Neural and alimentary cholecystokinin (CCK) levels in Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus, were analyzed from hatching to 40 days after hatching (DAH). The head compartment representing the neural pool was quantitatively dominant (> 80% of the total CCK content) while the digestive tract pool represented 6-10%. During ontogeny the CCK level in whole larvae increased almost 15-fold from 0 to 40 DAH, being particularly marked from 14 to 20 DAH. Larvae of 24 to 26 DAH were examined for potential occurrence of a circadian rhythm and to analyze the effects of feeding. Fed and fasted larvae were significantly different, where fed larvae showed higher CCK levels. There were large fluctuations in CCK levels analyzed at 3 h intervals without an apparent diurnal pattern. Shorter sampling intervals of 1 h in the morning when lights were switched gradually on and food was offered to the larvae demonstrated a marked drop in the relative gut CCK levels and a concurrent increase in the CCK carcass to gut ratio, 1 h after introduction of food followed by a return to prefeeding levels after 2 h. This response probably results from a release and re-synthesis of CCK in the gut after initiation of feeding. Taken together, these results support earlier reports that CCK participates in the regulation of digestive processes in herring larvae, but CCK does not seem to have a circadian rhythm independent of feeding.