Oral administration of recombinant DNA vaccines represents a promising vaccinating method for aquaculture species. Recombinant yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been proved to be a safe and efficient vehicle for delivering antigen DNAs and proteins to some species in vivo. Myostatin (MSTN), or growth and differentiation factor 8, is one of the well-known examples of economically important genes. Mutations linked with the double-muscled phenotype in many farm animal species were found in the MSTN gene, resulting in a significant increase in muscling compared to conventional strains. Myostatin is a key regulator of skeletal muscle growth in all vertebrates and regulates myoblast differentiation in vitro. Altering myostatin gene/protein prominently increases muscle mass. The growth could be also promoted by activating the immune response against MSTN in vivo by oral administration of recombinant S. cerevisiae.
In our study, catfish were orally administrated with recombinant yeast harboring muscle suppressor gene, myostatin MSTN, to promote the muscle mass growth in fish. Oral administration was performed with three different doses, and the MSTN-specific serum antibody was detected in all the experimental groups by western blotting and enzyme linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). We aim to use the recombinant yeast as a potential carrier for oral DNA vaccines and help to develop more practical approaches to prevent and control infectious diseases in aquaculture.