Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Advertisement

Scientific Reports
  • View all journals
  • Search
  • My Account Login
  • Content Explore content
  • About the journal
  • Publish with us
  • Sign up for alerts
  • RSS feed
  1. nature
  2. scientific reports
  3. articles
  4. article
Dietary thiaminase alters morphology and decreases swimming performance of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)
Download PDF
Download PDF
  • Article
  • Open access
  • Published: 19 January 2026

Dietary thiaminase alters morphology and decreases swimming performance of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

  • Christian A. Therrien  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4739-86211,
  • Peter M. Baker  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4461-05352,
  • Shawn Garner  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6902-78912,
  • Heidi K. Swanson  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0457-87693 &
  • …
  • Bryan D. Neff  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8499-250X2 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

  • 554 Accesses

  • 1 Altmetric

  • Metrics details

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Ecology
  • Physiology
  • Zoology

Abstract

The consumption of thiaminase can cause thiamine deficiency, which has been hypothesized to impede reintroduction efforts of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). In fishes, consumption of thiaminase is hypothesized to affect swimming performance and morphology because thiamine deficiency manifests as cardiac and neurological impairments. However, how those effects may differ among populations with different historical exposures to thiaminase remain understudied, despite the importance of these traits to survival and fitness. Here, juvenile lake trout from strains that originated from Seneca Lake and Slate Islands were reared in a common garden environment and received either an experimental diet containing thiaminase or a control diet. Two hundred and sixty days after the initiation of the diets, critical swim speed, morphology, and colouration were compared between strains and diets. Results indicated that, regardless of strain, the diet containing thiaminase negatively affected critical swim speed, decreased ventral-dorsal depth, and increased yellow pigmentation. While most of the negative effects of the thiaminase diet did not differ between the two strains, an increase in red pigmentation was observed in Seneca Lake fish that had received the thiaminase diet. We discuss how strain selection could help mitigate effects of thiaminase exposure on the success of reintroduction efforts for lake trout.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

References

  1. Monteverde, D. R., Gómez-Consarnau, L. & Suffridge, C. Sañudo-Wilhelmy, S. A. Life’s utilization of B vitamins on early Earth. Geobiology 15, 3–18 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bettendorf, L. Thiamine. In Handbook of vitamins. 267–324 (eds. Zempleni, J., Suttie, J. W., Gregory, J. F. I. & Stover, P. J.) (Boca Raton, 2013).

  3. Bâ, A. Metabolic and structural role of thiamine in nervous tissues. Cell. Mol. Neurobiol. 28, 923–931 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Ottinger, C. A., Honeyfield, D. C., Densmore, C. L. & Iwanowicz, L. R. Vitro immune functions in thiamine-replete and -depleted lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Fish. Shellfish Immun. 38, 211–220 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Romanenko, A. V., Gnatenko, V. M. & Vladimirova, I. A. Effect of thiamine on neuromuscular transmission in smooth muscles. Neurophysiology 26, 370–377 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Manzetti, S., Zhang, J. & van der Spoel, D. Thiamin function, metabolism, uptake, and transport. Biochemistry 53, 821–835 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Casteels, M., Sniekers, M., Fraccascia, P., Mannaerts, G. P. & Van Veldhoven, P. P. The role of 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA lyase, a thiamin pyrophosphate-dependent enzyme, in the peroxisomal metabolism of 3-methyl-branched fatty acids and 2-hydroxy straight-chain fatty acids. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 35, 876–880 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Bettendorff, L. & Wins, P. Biological functions of thiamine derivatives: focus on non-coenzyme roles. OA Biochem 1 (2013).

  9. Whitfield, K. C. et al. Thiamine deficiency disorders: diagnosis, prevalence, and a roadmap for global control programs. Ann. N Y Acad. Sci. 1430, 3–43 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Riley, S. C. & Evans, A. N. Phylogenetic and ecological characteristics associated with thiaminase activity in Laurentian Great Lakes fishes. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 137, 147–157 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Baker, P. M., Therrien, C. A., Muir, C. A., Garner, S. R. & Neff, B. D. Dietary thiaminase impairs cardiac function and increases heart size in lake trout (Salvelinus Namaycush (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)). Can. J. Zool. 101, 764–775 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Roman-Campos, D. & Cruz, J. S. Current aspects of thiamine deficiency on heart function. Life Sci. 98, 1–5 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kril, J. J. Neuropathology of thiamine deficiency disorders. Metab. Brain Dis. 11, 9–17 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Harder, A. M. et al. Thiamine deficiency in fishes: causes, consequences, and potential solutions. Rev. Fish. Biol. Fisheries. 28, 865–886 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Fisher, J. P., Fitzsimons, J. D., Combs, G. F. Jr. & Spitsbergen, J. M. Naturally occurring thiamine deficiency causing reproductive failure in Finger Lakes Atlantic salmon and Great Lakes lake trout. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 125, 167–178 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Sepúlveda, M. S. et al. Organochlorine pesticides and thiamine in eggs of largemouth bass and American alligators and their relationship with early life-stage mortality. J. Wild Dis. 40, 782–786 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Balk, L. et al. Widespread episodic thiamine deficiency in Northern hemisphere wildlife. Sci. Rep. 6, 38821 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Gilbert, N. Deadly deficiency at the heart of an environmental mystery. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 115, 10532–10536 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Fitzsimons, J. D. & Brown, S. B. Reduced egg thiamine levels in inland and great lakes lake trout and their relationship with diet. Am. Fish. Soc. Symp. 21, 160–171 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Wolf, L. E. Fish-diet disease of trout: a vitamin deficiency produced by diets containing raw fish (New York State Conservation Department, Bureau of Fish Culture, 1942).

  21. Honeyfield, D. C. et al. Development of thiamine deficiencies and early mortality syndrome in lake trout by feeding experimental and feral fish diets containing thiaminase. J. Aquat. Anim. Health. 17, 4–12 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Honeyfield, D. C., Tillitt, D. E., Fitzsimons, J. D. & Brown, S. B. Variation in Lake Michigan alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) thiaminase and fatty acids composition. J. Freshw. Ecol. 25, 65–71 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Campobasso, N., Costello, C. A., Kinsland, C., Begley, T. P. & Ealick, S. E. Crystal structure of thiaminase-I from Bacillus thiaminolyticus at 2.0 A resolution. Biochemistry 37, 15981–15989 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Fisher, J. P., Spitsbergen, J. M., Iamonte, T., Little, E. E. & Delonay, A. Pathological and behavioral manifestations of the Cayuga syndrome, a thiamine deficiency in larval landlocked Atlantic salmon. J. Aquat. Anim. Health. 7, 269–283 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Marcquenski, S. V. & Brown, S. Early mortality syndrome (EMS) in salmonid fishes from the Great Lakes. in Chemically induced alterations in functional development and reproduction of fishes (eds Rolland, R. M., Gilbertson, M. & Peterson, R. E.) 135–152 (SETAC Press, 1997).

  26. Amcoff, P., Börjeson, H., Lindeberg, J. & Norrgren, L. Thiamine concentrations in feral Baltic salmon exhibiting the M74 syndrome. in Early life stage mortality syndrome in fishes of the Great Lakes and Baltic Sea (eds. McDonald, D. G., Fitzsimons, J. D. & Honeyfield, D. C.) 82–89 (American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland, (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Ketola, H. G. et al. Thiamine status of Cayuga Lake rainbow trout and its influence on spawning migration. N Am. J. Fish. Man. 25, 1281–1287 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Fitzsimons, J. D. et al. Influence of thiamine deficiency on lake trout larval growth, foraging, and predator avoidance. J. Aquat. Anim. Health. 21, 302–314 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Morito, C. L. H., Conrad, D. H. & Hilton, J. W. The thiamin deficiency signs and requirement of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri, Richardson). Fish. Physiol. Biochem. 1, 93–104 (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Houde, A. L. S., Saez, P. J., Wilson, C. C., Bureau, D. P. & Neff, B. D. Effects of feeding high dietary thiaminase to sub-adult Atlantic salmon from three populations. J. Great Lakes Res. 41, 898–906 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Donnelly, W. A., Whoriskey, F. G. Jr. Background-color acclimation of brook trout for crypsis reduces risk of predation by hooded mergansers Lophodytes cucullatus. N Am. J. Fish. Man. 11, 206–211 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  32. Miyamoto, K. Effects of body color luminance and behavioral characteristics on predation risk in salmonid fishes. Hydrobiologia 783, 249–256 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  33. Arostegui, M. C. & Quinn, T. P. Ontogenetic and ecotypic variation in the coloration and morphology of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a stream–lake system. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 128, 681–699 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  34. Johnsen, S. & Sosik, H. M. Cryptic coloration and mirrored sides as camouflage strategies in near-surface pelagic habitats: implications for foraging and predator avoidance. Limnol. Oceanogr. 48, 1277–1288 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Gygax, M., Rentsch, A. K., Rudman, S. M. & Rennison, D. J. Differential predation alters pigmentation in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). J. Evol. Biol. 31, 1589–1598 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Adeli, K. A. et al. Consumption of non-native rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is associated with changes in the heart morphology of wild lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Can. J. Zool. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2024-0069 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Engbers, J. G., Molhoek, G. P. & Arntzenius, A. C. Shoshin beriberi: a rare diagnostic problem. Heart 51, 581–582 (1984).

    Google Scholar 

  38. Barennes, H., Sengkhamyong, K., René, J. P. & Phimmasane, M. Beriberi (thiamine deficiency) and high infant mortality in Northern Laos. PLOS Negl. Trop. D. 9, e0003581 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  39. Nozaki, S. et al. Thiamine Tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide improves energy metabolism and physical performance during physical-fatigue loading in rats. Nutr. Res. 29, 867–872 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  40. Choi, S. K., Baek, S. H. & Choi, S. W. The effects of endurance training and thiamine supplementation on anti-fatigue during exercise. J. Exerc. Nutr. Biochem. 17, 189–198 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  41. Suzuki, M. & Itokawa, Y. Effects of thiamine supplementation on exercise-induced fatigue. Metab. Brain Dis. 11, 95–106 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  42. Plaut, I. Critical swimming speed: its ecological relevance. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A. 131, 41–50 (2001).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Hyvärinen, P. & Vehanen, T. Effect of brown trout body size on post-stocking survival and pike predation. Ecol. Freshw. Fish. 13, 77–84 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  44. Taylor, E. B., McPhail, J. D. & and Burst swimming and size-related predation of newly emerged Coho salmon Oncorhynchus Kisutch. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 114, 546–551 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  45. Day, T. & McPhail, J. D. The effect of behavioural and morphological plasticity on foraging efficiency in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus sp). Oecologia 108, 380–388 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  46. Chivers, D. P., Zhao, X., Brown, G. E., Marchant, T. A. & Ferrari, M. C. O. Predator-induced changes in morphology of a prey fish: the effects of food level and temporal frequency of predation risk. Evol. Ecol. 22, 561–574 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  47. Rodgers, G. M., Gladman, N. W., Corless, H. F. & Morrell, L. J. Costs of colour change in fish: food intake and behavioural decisions. J. Exp. Biol. 216, 2760–2767 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  48. Morrison, B. P. Chronology of Lake Ontario ecosystem and fisheries. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Manag. 22, 294–304 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  49. Lantry, J. R., Schaner, T. & Copeland, T. A Management Strategy for the Restoration of Lake Trout in Lake Ontario, 2014 Update (Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 2014).

  50. Tillitt, D. E. et al. Thiamine and thiaminase status in forage fish of salmonines from Lake Michigan. J. Aquat. Anim. Health. 17, 13–25 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  51. Mumby, J. A. et al. Diet and trophic niche space and overlap of Lake Ontario salmonid species using stable isotopes and stomach contents. J. Great Lakes Res. 44, 1383–1392 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  52. Kornis, M. S., Bunnell, D. B., Swanson, H. K. & Bronte, C. R. Spatiotemporal patterns in trophic niche overlap among five salmonines in Lake Michigan, USA. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 77, 1059–1075 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  53. Nawrocki, B. M., Metcalfe, B. W., Holden, J. P., Lantry, B. F. & Johnson, T. B. Spatial and temporal variability in lake trout diets in Lake Ontario as revealed by stomach contents and stable isotopes. J. Great Lakes Res. 48, 392–403 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  54. Honeyfield, D. C., Hinterkopf, J. P. & Brown, S. B. Isolation of thiaminase-positive bacteria from alewife. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 131, 171–175 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  55. Richter, C. A., Evans, A. N., Heppell, S. A., Zajicek, J. L. & Tillitt, D. E. Genetic basis of thiaminase I activity in a vertebrate, zebrafish Danio rerio. Sci. Rep. 13, 698 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  56. Rowland, F. E., Richter, C. A., Tillitt, D. E. & Walters, D. M. Evolutionary and ecological correlates of thiaminase in fishes. Sci. Rep. 13, 18147 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  57. Odell, T. T. The life history and ecological relationships of the alewife (Pomolobus Pseudoharengus - Wilson) in Seneca Lake, New York. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 64, 118–126 (1934).

    Google Scholar 

  58. Bronte, C. R. & Hoff, M. H. Population status and trends for Lake Superior forage fishes, 1978-95 (Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 1996).

  59. Fitzsimons, J. D., Brown, S. B. & El-Shaarawi, A. H. Reduced thiamine utilization by Seneca Lake lake trout embryos and potential implications to restoration of lake trout in the Great Lakes. Environ. Biol. Fish. 104, 751–766 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  60. Bronte, C. R. et al. Fish community change in Lake Superior, 1970–2000. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 60, 1552–1574 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  61. Lantry, B. F. et al. Lake trout rehabilitation in Lake Ontario, 2019. NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report no. 2019 (2019).

  62. Rogers, M. W., Markham, J. L., MacDougall, T., Murray, C. & Vandergoot, C. S. Life history and ecological characteristics of humper and lean ecotypes of lake trout stocked in Lake Erie. Hydrobiologia 840, 363–377 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  63. Larson, W. A. et al. The genetic composition of wild recruits in a recovering lake trout population in Lake Michigan. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 78, 286–300 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  64. Ebener, M. P., Bence, J. R., Clark, R. D. & Scribner, K. T. Using strain-specific genetic information to estimate the reproductive potential of lake trout spawning biomass in Southern Lake Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 51, 102461 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  65. Vogel, J. L. & Beauchamp, D. A. Effects of light, prey size, and turbidity on reaction distances of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) to salmonid prey. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 56, 1293–1297 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  66. Holbrook, B. V., Hrabik, T. R., Branstrator, D. K. & Mensinger, A. F. Foraging mechanisms of age-0 lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). J. Great Lakes Res. 39, 128–137 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  67. Kilkenny, C., Browne, W., Cuthill, I. C., Emerson, M. & Altman, D. G. Animal research: reporting in vivo experiments: the ARRIVE guidelines. Br. J. Pharmacol. 160, 1577–1579 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  68. Therrien, C. A. et al. The effect of diet-derived thiaminase on survival, growth, and liver transketolase activity in two strains of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). J. Great Lakes Res. 102689 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2025.102689 (2025).

  69. Mitchell, K. T. et al. Effects of a low-thiamine diet on reproductive traits in three populations of Atlantic salmon targeted for reintroduction into Lake Ontario. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 78, 135–143 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  70. Colborne, S. F., Bellemare, M. C., Peres-Neto, P. R. & Neff, B. D. Morphological and swim performance variation among reproductive tactics of bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 68, 1802–1810 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  71. Lee-Jenkins, S. S. Y., Binder, T. R., Karch, A. P. & McDonald, D. G. The recovery of locomotory activity following exhaustive exercise in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 80, 88–98 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  72. Ricker, W. E. Computation and interpretation of biological statistics of fish populations. Bull. Fish. Res. Board. Can. 191, 1–382 (1975).

    Google Scholar 

  73. Muir, A. M., Vecsei, P. & Krueger, C. C. A perspective on perspectives: methods to reduce variation in shape analysis of digital images. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 141, 1161–1170 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  74. Perreault-Payette, A. et al. Investigating the extent of parallelism in morphological and genomic divergence among lake trout ecotypes in Lake Superior. Mol. Ecol. 26, 1477–1497 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  75. Villafuerte, R. & Negro, J. J. Digital imaging for colour measurement in ecological research. Ecol. Lett. 1, 151–154 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  76. Autodesk Revit. version 21.0 (2017). https://www.autodesk.com/ca-en/products/revit

  77. Rohlf, F. J. TpsDig. version 1.31. Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook. (2008). https://www.sbmorphometrics.org/soft-tps.html

  78. Rohlf, F. The Tps series of software. Hystrix 26, (2015).

  79. Rohlf, F. J. TpsRelw. Version 2.32. Department of Ecology and Evolution (State University of New York at Stony Brook, 2009).

  80. Klingenber, C. P. MorphoJ: an integrated software package for geometric morphometrics. Mol. Ecol. Res. 11, 353–357 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  81. R core team. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R foundation for statistical computing. (2024).

  82. R Core Team. The R graphics devices and support for colours and fonts. (2024).

  83. Bates, D., Maechler, M., Bolker, B. & Walker, S. lme4: linear mixed-effects models using ‘Eigen’ and S4 (2023).

  84. Scheipl, F. & Bolker, B. Exact (restricted) likelihood ratio tests for mixed and additive models. version 3.1-8 (2025). https://github.com/fabian-s/RLRsim

  85. Neff, B. D., Wilson, C. C. & Edwards, K. Effects of dietary thiaminase on two strains of lake trout (Great Lakes Fishery Commission completion report no. 2020_NEF_441003, 2023).

  86. Koski, P., Bäckman, C. & Pelkonen, O. Pharmacokinetics of thiamine in female Baltic salmon (Salmo Salar L.) broodfish. Environ. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 19, 139–152 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  87. Fitzsimons, J. D. et al. The effect of thiamine injection on upstream migration, survival, and thiamine status of putative thiamine-deficient coho salmon. J. Aquat. Anim. Health. 17, 48–58 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  88. Claireaux, G. et al. Linking swimming performance, cardiac pumping ability and cardiac anatomy in rainbow trout. J. Exp. Biol. 208, 1775–1784 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  89. Ivanova, S. V., Johnson, T. B., Metcalfe, B. & Fisk, A. T. Spatial distribution of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) across seasonal thermal cycles in a large lake. Freshw. Biol. 66, 615–627 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  90. Gallagher, C. P., Guzzo, M. M. & Dick, T. A. Seasonal depth and temperature use, and diel movements of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in a Subarctic lake. Arct. Sci. 5, 71–89 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  91. Wood, C. M. Acid-base and ion balance, metabolism, and their interactions, after exhaustive exercise in fish. J. Exp. Biol. 160, 285–308 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  92. Lee, M. C., Hsu, Y. J., Shen, S. Y., Ho, C. S. & Huang C.-C. A functional evaluation of anti-fatigue and exercise performance improvement following vitamin B complex supplementation in healthy humans, a randomized double-blind trial. Int. J. Med. Sci. 20, 1272–1281 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  93. van der Beek, E. et al. Thiamin, riboflavin, and vitamins B-6 and C: impact of combined restricted intake on functional performance in man. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 48, 1451–1462 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  94. Agedal, K. J., Steidl, K. E. & Burgess, J. L. An overview of type B lactic acidosis due to thiamine (B1) deficiency. J. Pediatr. Pharmacol. Ther. 28, 397–408 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  95. Xu, C. et al. Interactions between dietary carbohydrate and thiamine: implications on the growth performance and intestinal mitochondrial biogenesis and function of Megalobrama amblycephala. Br. J. Nutr. 127, 321–334 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  96. Trzeciak, P. Effects of vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) alevins at hatching stage. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. Part. A: Mol. Integr. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CBPA.2009.06.020 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  97. Takenouchi, K., Aso, K. & Utsumi, K. Participation of thiamine and riboflavin in the formation of tyrosine melanin. J. Vitaminol. 6, 308–320 (1960).

    Google Scholar 

  98. Snyman, M., Walsdorf, R. E., Wix, S. N. & Gill, J. G. The metabolism of melanin synthesis—from melanocytes to melanoma. Pigment Cell. Melanoma Res. 37, 438–452 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  99. Hatlen, B., Jobling, M. & Bjerkeng, B. Relationships between carotenoid concentration and colour of fillets of Arctic charr, Salvelinus Alpinus (L.), fed astaxanthin. Aquac Res. 29, 191–202 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  100. Pettersson, A. & Lignell, A. Astaxanthin deficiency in eggs and fry of Baltic salmon (Salmo salar) with the M74 syndrome. Ambio 28, 43–47 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  101. Lukienko, P. I., Mel’nichenko, N. G., Zverinskii, I. V. & Zabrodskaya, S. V. Antioxidant properties of thiamine. Bull. Exp. Biol. Med. 130, 874–876 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  102. Endo, M., Sakai, T., Yamaguchi, T. & Nakajima, H. Pathology of jaundice in the cultured eel Anguilla japonica. Aquaculture 103, 1–7 (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  103. Sakai, T. et al. Severe oxidative stress is thought to be a principal cause of jaundice of yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata. Aquaculture 160, 205–214 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  104. Abbas, M., Shamshad, T., Ashraf, M. & Javaid, R. Jaundice: a basic review. Int. J. Res. Med. Sci. 4, 1313–1319. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20161196 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  105. De Backer, D. Lactic acidosis. Intensive Care Med. 29, 699–702 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  106. Shah, S. C. & Sass, D. A. Cardiac hepatopathy: a review of liver dysfunction in heart failure. Liver Res. Open. J. 1, 1–10 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  107. Gioda, C. R., Capettini, L. S. A., Cruz, J. S. & Lemos, V. S. Thiamine deficiency leads to reduced nitric oxide production and vascular dysfunction in rats. Nutr. Metab. Cardiovasc. Dis. 24, 183–188 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  108. Zhao, Q., Li, M., Chen, L. & Qiu, F. An easily overlooked cause of pulmonary arterial hypertension—thiamine deficiency. Front Nutr 12 (2025).

  109. Jacobson, P. C., Zimmer, K. D., Grow, R. & Eshenroder, R. L. Morphological variation of cisco across gradients of lake productivity. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 149, 462–473 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Chatsworth Fish Culture Station for rearing and providing the lake trout. We would also like to thank laboratory assistants Kevin Adeli, Melody Zhao, and Lilian Yeung for their contributions. We also thank Jason Intini for his advice on animal care and Trevor Pitcher for lending us his swim flume.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Christian A. Therrien

  2. Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Peter M. Baker, Shawn Garner & Bryan D. Neff

  3. Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Heidi K. Swanson

Authors
  1. Christian A. Therrien
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peter M. Baker
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shawn Garner
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Heidi K. Swanson
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bryan D. Neff
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

C.A.T., B.D.N. and S.G. all helped conceive the original idea and methodology. C.A.T. collected the data, conducted data processing, and drafted the manuscript. P.M.B. also helped carry out the swim flume trials. C.A.T., P.M.B., and S.G. all helped with animal husbandry. C.A.T. and H.K.S. contributed to data analysis. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript. Supervision was provided by H.K.S. and B.D.N.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian A. Therrien.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary Material 1

Supplementary Material 2

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Therrien, C.A., Baker, P.M., Garner, S. et al. Dietary thiaminase alters morphology and decreases swimming performance of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35139-8

Download citation

  • Received: 01 September 2025

  • Accepted: 02 January 2026

  • Published: 19 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35139-8

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Keywords

  • Thiamine deficiency
  • Thiaminase
  • Swimming performance
  • Pigmentation
  • Morphology
  • Aquaculture
Download PDF

Advertisement

Explore content

  • Research articles
  • News & Comment
  • Collections
  • Subjects
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Sign up for alerts
  • RSS feed

About the journal

  • About Scientific Reports
  • Contact
  • Journal policies
  • Guide to referees
  • Calls for Papers
  • Editor's Choice
  • Journal highlights
  • Open Access Fees and Funding

Publish with us

  • For authors
  • Language editing services
  • Open access funding
  • Submit manuscript

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

  • Explore articles by subject
  • Find a job
  • Guide to authors
  • Editorial policies

Scientific Reports (Sci Rep)

ISSN 2045-2322 (online)

nature.com sitemap

About Nature Portfolio

  • About us
  • Press releases
  • Press office
  • Contact us

Discover content

  • Journals A-Z
  • Articles by subject
  • protocols.io
  • Nature Index

Publishing policies

  • Nature portfolio policies
  • Open access

Author & Researcher services

  • Reprints & permissions
  • Research data
  • Language editing
  • Scientific editing
  • Nature Masterclasses
  • Research Solutions

Libraries & institutions

  • Librarian service & tools
  • Librarian portal
  • Open research
  • Recommend to library

Advertising & partnerships

  • Advertising
  • Partnerships & Services
  • Media kits
  • Branded content

Professional development

  • Nature Awards
  • Nature Careers
  • Nature Conferences

Regional websites

  • Nature Africa
  • Nature China
  • Nature India
  • Nature Japan
  • Nature Middle East
  • Privacy Policy
  • Use of cookies
  • Legal notice
  • Accessibility statement
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Your US state privacy rights
Springer Nature

© 2026 Springer Nature Limited

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene