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Link between food intake and the expression of O‐linked N‐acetylglucosamine Transferase (OGT) in channel catfish

The obesity epidemic in the United States has been a serious concern for many years and has driven researchers to determine genetic mechanisms that might contribute to its development. In mice, O‐linked N‐acetylglucosamine Transferase (OGT) might serve as a satiety factor responsible for controlling food intake and body weight. OGT appears to signal “fullness” to the brain, and decreased OGT expression leads to weight gain and development of an obese phenotype. In a previous study, OGT expression was examined in various tissues of channel catfish. OGT mRNA was detected in all sampled tissues, with the brain having the highest expression. Our previous study also showed that prolonged fasting appeared to decrease the expression of OGT mRNA in the brain. To determine how feeding frequency correlates with the expression of OGT mRNA in catfish, we completed a 28 day feeding study with three feeding frequencies. Fish were fed every 12 (overfed), 24 (control), or 48 (underfed) hours (n= 4 tanks per treatment, 8 fish per tank). Brain samples were collected from two juvenile catfish from each tank. Using quantitative RT‐PCR, the expression of OGT mRNA was examined in the brain samples. The expression of all OGT mRNA transcripts, as well as the expression of OGT X1 and X3 variant mRNA were not affected by feeding frequency, suggesting changes in feeding frequency might not directly influence OGT mRNA expression in the brain. We are currently examining the relationship between feeding frequency and OGT mRNA expression in the liver.