Increases in cortisol production facilitate the transition to exogenous feeding by larval zebrafish.

The transition to exogenous feeding is a critical developmental period that is regulated by corticosteroids in mammals. However, mechanistic evidence linking corticosteroids with feeding transitions in non-mammalian vertebrates remains scarce. Here, we pharmacologically suppressed cortisol production during the period preceding exogenous feeding by larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) and determined how this influenced feeding rates and transcript levels of digestive enzymes. Water-borne metyrapone (an 11β-hydroxylase inhibitor) from 3‒5 days post-fertilization (dpf) blocked the 2-fold rise in cortisol levels observed in control larvae during this period. While whole-animal growth and development were unaffected, cortisol synthesis suppression during this period resulted in lower transcript abundance of digestive enzymes and reduced feeding rates at 5 dpf. However, these differences dissipated following a two-day washout period. Together, our results indicate that cortisol influences feeding transitions in zebrafish, highlight the plasticity of these processes following perturbations, and suggest that this mechanism is conserved across vertebrates.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Journal of Experimental Biology

• Publication date

  2025-08-19

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1242/jeb.250921PMID 40827392
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Glucocorticoid receptor activation reduces food intake independent of hyperglycemia in zebrafish

  2022cited by this paper
• Endogenous cortisol production and its relationship with feeding transitions in larval lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens).

  2020cited by this paper
• Postnatal triglyceride accumulation is regulated by mineralocorticoid receptor activation under basal and stress conditions

  2019cited by this paper
• Learning steers the ontogeny of an efficient hunting sequence in zebrafish larvae

  2019cited by this paper
• Feeding circuit development and early-life influences on future feeding behaviour

  2018cited by this paper
• Intestinal Transit Time and Cortisol-Mediated Stress in Zebrafish

  2017cited by this paper
• Feeding State Modulates Behavioral Choice and Processing of Prey Stimuli in the Zebrafish Tectum.

  2016cited by this paper
• Early-life perturbations in glucocorticoid activity impacts on the structure, function and molecular composition of the adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) heart

  2015cited by this paper
• Digestive enzymatic activity during ontogenetic development in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

  2015cited by this paper
• Glucocorticoids and fetal programming part 1: outcomes

  2014cited by this paper
• Ontogenesis of the HPI axis and molecular regulation of the cortisol stress response during early development in Dicentrarchus labrax.

  2014cited by this paper
• Physiological roles of glucocorticoids during early embryonic development of the zebrafish (Danio rerio)

  2013cited by this paper
• The Transcriptomics of Glucocorticoid Receptor Signaling in Developing Zebrafish

  2013cited by this paper
• Glucocorticoid receptor activity regulates light adaptation in the zebrafish retina

  2013cited by this paper
• Programming effects of high-carbohydrate feeding of larvae on adult glucose metabolism in zebrafish, Danio rerio

  2013cited by this paper
• Zebrafish embryos as an alternative to animal experiments--a commentary on the definition of the onset of protected life stages in animal welfare regulations.

  2012cited by this paper
• Embryo exposure to elevated cortisol level leads to cardiac performance dysfunction in zebrafish.

  2012cited by this paper
• Evolution of ligand specificity in vertebrate corticosteroid receptors

  2011cited by this paper
• Ontogeny of the corticotropin-releasing factor system in rainbow trout and differential effects of hypoxia on the endocrine and cellular stress responses during development.

  2011cited by this paper
• Saltatory ontogeny of fishes and sensitive early life stages for ecotoxicology tests.

  2010cited by this paper
• Brain development under stress: hypotheses of glucocorticoid actions revisited.

  2010cited by this paper
• Stirring Up New Ideas About the Regulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Interrenal Axis in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

  2010cited by this paper
• Ontogeny of the corticotropin-releasing factor system in zebrafish.

  2009cited by this paper
• Glucocorticoid receptor (DlGR1) is expressed in pre-larval and larval stages of the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax

  2008cited by this paper
• Development of the corticosteroid stress axis and receptor expression in zebrafish.

  2008cited by this paper
• From cradle to early grave: juvenile mortality in European shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis results from inadequate development of foraging proficiency

  2007cited by this paper
• Interrenal and thyroid development in red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus): effects of nursery environment on larval growth and cortisol concentration during settlement.

  2006cited by this paper
• 11-deoxycorticosterone is a potent agonist of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) mineralocorticoid receptor.

  2005cited by this paper
• Visual Prey Capture in Larval Zebrafish Is Controlled by Identified Reticulospinal Neurons Downstream of the Tectum

  2005cited by this paper
• Formation of the digestive system in zebrafish: III. Intestinal epithelium morphogenesis.

  2005cited by this paper
• Intestinal growth and differentiation in zebrafish.

  2005cited by this paper
• Hormonal influence on amylase gene expression during Seabass (Lates calcarifer) larval development.

  2004cited by this paper
• Characterization of the seabass pancreatic alpha-amylase gene and promoter.

  2004cited by this paper
• Evidence for two distinct functional glucocorticoid receptors in teleost fish.

  2003cited by this paper
• How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative actions.

  2000cited by this paper
• The Effects of Steroids Upon the Gastrointestinal Tract

  1988cited by this paper
• Influence of glucocorticoids on prenatal development of the gut and pancreas in rats.

  1985cited by this paper
• Influence of the thyroid and adrenal glands on the growth of the intestine of the suckling rat, and on the development of intestinal alkaline phosphatase and disaccharidase activities.

  1977cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.