Effects of dietary manganese source and supplemental levels on growth performance, antioxidant enzymes activities, tissue Mn concentrations and cytosolic manganese superoxide dismutase (cMnSOD) mRNA expression level of juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of different forms and levels of manganese (Mn) on the growth performance, antioxidant activities, tissue Mn content and cytosolic manganese superoxide dismutase (cMnSOD) gene expression of Litopenaeus vannamei. Treatments consisted of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 60 mg Mn kg−1 from manganese sulphate (Mn-S) and manganese methionine (Mn-Met), providing the actual dietary value of 5.17, 15.62, 25.55, 34.22, 44.48 and 67.90 mg Mn kg−1 Mn-S, and 5.17, 15.71, 25.36, 35.86, 45.16 and 65.06 mg Mn kg−1 Mn-Met, respectively. Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of L. vannamei (initial body weight: 1.925 ± 0.002 g) in a recirculated fresh water rearing system for 8 weeks. Weight gain rate (WGR) increased in prawns provided with from 25.55 to 44.48 mg Mn kg−1 Mn-S and 15.71 to 45.16 mg Mn kg−1 Mn-Met and then declined above these levels. The lowest protein efficiency ratio (PER) and the highest feed conversion rate (FCR) were observed in prawns fed the control diet (P 0.05). Survival rate (SR) was not affected by the dietary treatments (P > 0.05). Total SOD and Mn-SOD activities were higher in the hepatopancreas of prawns fed with Mn-supplemented diets from 15.71 to 44.48 mg Mn kg−1 (P