The Effect of Parental Vitamin K Deficiency on Bone Structure in Mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus

The effect of parental vitamin K deficiency on developing bone structure was examined in mummichog ( Fundulus heteeroclitus ) larvae. Larvae from fish fed a vitamin K‐deficient diet had abnormal vertebral formation, whereas larvae from fish fed a vitamin K‐rich diet showed a significantly lower incidence of abnormality 5 d post‐hatch. Larvae from fish that had been fed either the vitamin K‐rich or the vitamin K‐deficient diet had a high rate of abnormality when reared on a vitamin K‐deficient diet for 30 d. Larvae from fish fed a vitamin K‐rich diet that were reared on a vitamin K‐rich diet showed a low rate of abnormality. Vertebral bone structure of larvae fed a vitamin K‐deficient diet for 30 d was thin and rough, and seemed to have repaired fine fractures of the bone surface. In contrast, this type of structural abnormality was not observed in any larvae fed a vitamin K (phylloquinone) rich diet. These results imply that vitamin K deficiency causes the formation of thin and weak bone, and induces bone structure abnormality both in early development and during growth.