Comparative analysis biochemical composition of wild and domesticated white shrimp, Penaeus merguiensis broodstocks

The availability of an optimal diet is identified as a crucial factor for the sexual maturation and reproduction on white shrimp, Penaeus merguiensis in captivity. It is assumed that protein requirements are higher and there are changes in lipid composition of broodstock tissues during maturation and reproduction of shrimpas compared to the non-reproductive stages. The objective of this study was to comparatively analyse protein and lipid composition of wild and domesticated white shrimp, Penaeus merguiensis broodstocks in order to correlate the relationship between ovarian maturation and hepatopancreas on the changes in their protein and lipid composition which in turn can be related to the diet. Approximately two hundred pieces of wild white shrimp females (44.2 ± 4.8 g) and two hundred pieces of domesticated white shrimp females (33.1 ± 2.3 g) were used in this study. They were classed according to the maturation stages. Stages I and II were pooled together and labeled as FwC1 and FdC1 for wild and domesticated shrimp respectively. While,females with stages III and IV were pooled together and labeled as FwC2 and FdC2 for wild and domesticated shrimp respectively. The whole body, reproductive organs and hepatopancreas from each group were respectively pooled and analysed for crude protein and crude lipid compositions. This study showed that ovaries of wildcaught white shrimp broodstocks at all stages of ovarian maturation possessed higher protein and lipid compositions (P<0.05) compared to those of domesticated white shrimp broodstocks. Although higher protein content was found in the hepatopancreas of early maturation stages in domesticated broodstocks, yet it decreased dramatically at the later maturation stages. In contrast, there were no marked differences in protein and lipid compositions at any of the maturation stages in wild broodstocks. The findings probably explain the lower reproductive capability of domesticated white shrimp compared to those from wild which can be related to theirdiet.