Scientific Reports · 4 authors, 1 centre
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This study compiled data on thiaminase presence across 300 fish species and found no evolutionary pattern. Instead, ecological factors like lower trophic level, freshwater habitat, higher omega-3 content, and tropical climate best predicted which fishes express thiaminase.
The authors conducted literature and GenBank BLAST searches to compile thiaminase activity and sequence homology data for 300 freshwater and marine fish species. They used Bayesian multiple regression to test if thiaminase presence could be predicted by evolutionary relationships, trophic level, omega-3 fatty acid concentrations, habitat, climate, invasive potential, and body size. The analysis found no evolutionary relationship with thiaminase; it first appears in Class Actinopterygii and is distributed across its phylogeny. Habitat, invasive potential, and body size were not predictors. The findings provide a foundation for predicting sources of thiaminase in aquatic food webs, which is relevant to managing thiamine deficiency in fisheries and potentially in humans consuming raw fish.
