Insulin-like growth factor-I cDNA cloning, gene expression and potential use as a growth rate indicator in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

IGF-I is a mitogenic polypeptide that is an important regulator of growth in fish. The potential of IGF-I mRNA abundance as a rapid growth indicator in the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, was evaluated. Hepatic IGF-I cDNA was isolated and partially cloned. The partial sequence having 539 bases encodes for the signal peptide, mature protein and a portion of the E domain. The deduced 68 amino acid sequence for mature IGF-I showed 84–90% and 77–79% sequence identity with fish and mammalian counterparts, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence for domains B and A was most conserved (93–97%) relative to other fishes. A sensitive TaqMan real time qRT-PCR assay for O. niloticus was developed based on the mature IGF-I peptide for measures of hepatic IGF-I mRNA levels. Hepatic IGF-I mRNA levels were found to be significantly correlated with growth rate of fish reared under different feeding regimes and temperature conditions. Higher feed consumption and water temperature produced faster-growing fish and increased hepatic IGF-I mRNA expression. These findings suggest that hepatic-derived IGF-I plays a key role in controlling growth in O. niloticus and indicates that IGF-I mRNA quantification could prove useful for the rapid assessment of growth rate in this species.