Dynamics of scale regeneration in seawater- and brackish water-acclimated sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax.

Scale loss is a common occurrence in both wild fish and those in aquaculture production systems, and regeneration of scales has been described in several freshwater species. Relatively little information exists about this process in marine fish, and in the present study, the chronology of scale regeneration was characterized in juvenile sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax, maintained in full seawater (SW; 36‰, 11.2 mM Ca(2+)) or brackish water (BW; 3.5‰, 1.1 mM Ca(2+)). Despite the significant differences in plasma osmolality, plasma calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were similar between SW and BW. Removal of scales (2.25 cm(2)) did not modify plasma osmolality but a significant reduction in plasma Ca occurred in sea bass in BW during early phases of scale regeneration. Scale Ca and P contents changed during regeneration in SW and BW fish, and in fully regenerated scales, their concentration was comparable to ontogenic scales which had a Ca/P ratio around 1.0. Regenerating scales were first visible at 3 days after removal, and by 6 days, the descaled area was covered with new scales in both SW and BW fish. From this stage onwards, while scale area and mass rose gradually, a rapid accretion of calcium crystals was observed over the basal plate, especially in SW, and Ca and P content per scale increased at a very high rate, decreasing only at the later stages, and between 21 and 30 days the newly formed scales had already ontogenic-like morphometric features. Scale tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) or alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was initially similar in SW and BW. However, during regeneration, TRAP was significantly higher in scales of sea bass in SW compared to those in BW where ALP predominated; these differences persisted at 30 days.