A Review of Carbohydrate Nutrition and Metabolism in Crustaceans

Abstract

Carbohydrates are the primary energy source in all animal diets and are the least expensive energy source in the diets of aquatic animals. However, the utilization of carbohydrates by aquatic animals is relatively low relative that of terrestrial animals. Compared with those in fish, few studies have examined the nutrition or metabolism of crustacean species. This lack of information is a bottleneck for current research of crustacean physiology, especially that which focuses on nutrition. Specifically, there is a deficiency of research that focuses on glucose transporter proteins (except for glucose transporter (GLUT) family protein), regulators involved in carbohydrate metabolism, and the interaction of different hormones. This paper summarizes the dietary carbohydrate requirements of various crustacean species and reviews the progress of research on carbohydrate utilization and metabolism, with an aim to providing clearer insight into carbohydrate metabolism and laying a theoretical foundation for crustacean physiological research.

Received August 24, 2015; accepted December 19, 2015

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31472291 and 31172422), and partly by the ECNU innovation fund. We also thank Toni Wiegers (University of California, Davis) for helping review our manuscript in grammar, syntax style, and spelling.