Dietary phosphatidylethanolamine promotes ovarian development in Pacific white shrimp ( Penaeus vannamei ) via lipid remodelling

Abstract Although ovarian maturation in the broodstock Penaeus vannamei is highly sensitive to dietary lipid architecture, the role of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) remains poorly defined. Isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets containing graded PE supplementation levels (0·0 %, 0·3 %, 0·6 %, 0·9 % and 1·2 %) were fed to female broodstock for 42 d to evaluate ovarian development, lipid transport, endocrine responses, gene expression and lipidomic remodelling along the hepatopancreas–haemolymph–ovary axis. Moderate PE supplementation (0·6 %) maximised the gonadosomatic index while reducing the hepatosomatic index, accelerated ovarian stages II–III and promoted larger oocytes with denser yolk granules and cortical rods. PE selectively redistributed lipids, characterised by reduced hepatopancreatic cholesterol and TAG, increased ovarian TAG deposition and altered serum lipoprotein profiles without increasing VLDL. Serum oestradiol and progesterone increased at moderate to high PE levels. In the ovary, PE up-regulated genes involved in the PI3K–Akt–mTOR and PLC–Ca 2+ pathways, as well as srebp , fas , vg and vgr . Lipidomics demonstrated PE-centred remodelling of glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids, and network analyses revealed cross-tissue hub lipids closely associated with ovarian development. Quadratic regression indicated an optimal PE supplementation level of 0·67 %–0·68 % (dry matter basis), whereas higher levels attenuated the response. These findings indicate that dietary PE enhances ovarian maturation primarily by reconfiguring lipid architecture and nutrient-signalling coupling rather than increasing total lipid deposition, providing a mechanistic basis for precision broodstock diet formulation in P. vannamei .