ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Fisheries, Aquaculture and Living Resources
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1681940
This article is part of the Research TopicEcological Safety and One Health in AquacultureView all articles
The effects of pond purification system on intestinal junction of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus): A focus on intestinal development, digestion and absorption, and junction integrity
Provisionally accepted
Zhong-Bing Zheng1Yu Yang2Jun Liu1Ming-Cheng Zhou2Ju-Hua Li2Long-Jiang Tang1Hai-Long Nie1Kang-Sheng Chen2Feng Liu2Xiang-Ning He3
Zhi-Yuan Lu1*- 1Hainan University, Haikou, China
- 2Zhanjiang Zhongyue Energy Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang, China
- 3Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
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Pond purification system (PPS) is an outdoor aquaculture system designed based on recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) principles, utilizing recirculating water technology, which can achieve large-scale fish farming in the recirculating water system. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the alterations in growth performance, intestinal histology, digestion-absorption function, and structural integrity of channel catfish raised in PPS. The findings indicated a significant optimization in water quality indicators pertinent to aquaculture, including total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen, nitrite, and dissolved oxygen. Additionally, the growth performance of channel catfish reared in the PPS group was markedly improved. The intestinal morphology of these channel catfish exhibited increased villus height and a reduced number of mucus cells. Furthermore, serum levels of diamine oxidase and D-lactic acid were significantly decreased in channel catfish raised in the PPS group, while the expression of genes related to the apical junction complex was significantly upregulated, suggesting improved intestinal structural integrity. Moreover, the activities of digestive and absorptive enzymes, such as trypsin, amylase, lipase, and Na+-K+-ATPase, were elevated, indicating enhanced digestive and absorptive functions. In conclusion, based on the conditions of this experiment, the pond purification system module used in this study can effectively improve the quality of the aquaculture water, enhance fish growth performance and improve their intestinal health.
Keywords: Pond purification system, intestine, Digestive absorption, structural integrity, Channel catfish
Received: 08 Aug 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Yang, Liu, Zhou, Li, Tang, Nie, Chen, Liu, He and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhi-Yuan Lu, Hainan University, Haikou, China
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