Bone dynamics in zebrafish on low- and high-frequency diets

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were fed high and low-frequency diets over 40 days to assess the effect of diet on bone parameters. Fish fed 3×/day (High) were significantly greater in total weight and length vs. fish fed 2×/week (Low; <0.01). The High group had significantly higher vertebral bone density (p = 0.0009) and lower bone volume (p = 0.04) compared to the Low group. Scales from the Low group also had higher density of resorption lacunae in their scales (p = 0.02). We interpret these data to hypothesize that higher leptin titers associated with reduced calorie intake is generally catabolic to bone in zebrafish.