A healthy skeletal system is fundamental to fish welfare and performance and a key physiological feature of a robust fish. The presence of skeletal deformities in farmed salmonids is a persistent welfare problem in aquaculture, and one which threatens to impede industry growth. Deformities of the fine bones of fish, such as ribs and intermuscular bones (IBs), have received less attention than vertebral body deformities, despite their potential to compromise fish welfare and product quality. IBs, commercially known as pin bones, are small spicule-like bones embedded in the muscle fillets of salmonids, cyprinids and other basal teleost species. In farmed basal teleosts, they impact fish processing, have negative effects on the economic value of fish and present a potential consumer health concern if ingested. Current understanding of IB development and function in teleosts has mostly relied on morphological research. More recently, advances in our understanding of molecular mechanisms of IB development in cyprinids have been made, largely due to the exploration of breeding IB-free fish for use in aquaculture. In this review, we explore the existing literature on IBs in teleosts, highlight the points of contention within this field of research and identify the significant knowledge gaps about the development and function of salmonid IBs. To our knowledge, there is no available research on the function of IBs and scarce research concerning IB development in salmonids. Future research on teleost IBs would benefit from the use of consistent terminology to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and identify research outputs in this field.

中文翻译：

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针状骨的问题：鲑鱼肌间骨的发育和功能及其对水产养殖的影响


健康的骨骼系统是鱼类福利和性能的基础，也是强健鱼类的关键生理特征。养殖鲑鱼的骨骼畸形是水产养殖中一个持续存在的福利问题，并且有可能阻碍行业发展。鱼类细骨畸形，例如肋骨和肌间骨（IB），尽管其可能损害鱼类福利和产品质量，但比椎体畸形受到的关注较少。 IBs，商业上称为针骨，是嵌入鲑科动物、鲤鱼和其他基础硬骨鱼物种肌肉中的小针状骨头。在养殖的基础硬骨鱼中，它们会影响鱼类加工，对鱼类的经济价值产生负面影响，并且如果摄入，会带来潜在的消费者健康问题。目前对硬骨鱼 IB 发育和功能的了解主要依赖于形态学研究。最近，我们对鲤鱼 IB 发育的分子机制的理解取得了进展，这主要是由于对培育用于水产养殖的无 IB 鱼类的探索。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了有关硬骨鱼 IB 的现有文献，强调了该研究领域内的争论点，并确定了有关鲑鱼 IB 的发育和功能的重大知识差距。据我们所知，目前还没有关于 IB 功能的研究，而且有关鲑科鱼 IB 发育的研究也很少。未来硬骨鱼 IB 的研究将受益于使用一致的术语，以促进跨学科合作并确定该领域的研究成果。