Survival rates and the occurrence of larval malformations, including Siamese twins, following fertilization of post-ovulatory aged oocytes in ide Leuciscus idus

Abstract

Embryonic development of lower vertebrates can be influenced by many factors, especially when outside of the mother's body and under the influence of variable abiotic and biotic factors. In this study, the effects of fertilization of post-ovulatory aged (overmature) oocytes of ide Leuciscus idus on the risk of developing anomalies in ide larvae were assessed under controlled conditions. There was a negative effect of delayed fertilization of post-ovulatory aged (overmature) oocytes in the ovary on the quality of offspring, which caused reduced survival 3 days post-fertilization and at the hatching stage (68.3 vs. 81.2% and 47.2 vs. 79.7% for the overmature and mature groups, respectively). It also increased the occurrence of numerous developmental defects (19.3 vs. 0.8% for the overmature and mature groups, respectively), including the development of Siamese twins. This is the first reported case of the occurrence of Siamese twins in ide. The ide Siamese twins look like hen eggs with 2 heads and are different from 'typical' Siamese twins in fish.

The induction of meiotic gynogenesis in Northern pike (Esox lucius) using the heterologous European perch (Perca fluviatilis) sperm

“…3b). This very characteristic type of body deformity in haploids is very different from the other types of body deformation described in fish embryos (¯arski et al 2015, Nowosad et al 2018, Nowosad and Kucharczyk 2019. Similar haploids of esocid fishes were also identified in muskellunge by Lin and Dabrowski (1996).…”

Alterations in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) eggs exposed to ionizing radiation during induced androgenesis

“…Post‐ovulatory ageing eggs show reduced developmental competence including increased incidences of body deformities observed in the larvae hatched from such eggs (Bonnet et al, ). The most frequently observed morphological abnormalities associated with poor quality of eggs are shortened body, absence of tail, spine curvature disorders, presence of larvae with two heads (Siamese twins), cyclopia, body torsions, defects in yolk sac resorption, absence of caudal fins and jaw deformities (Aegerter et al, ; Bonnet et al, ; Nowosad et al, ). Almost all malformed larvae from the androgenetic and the control groups exhibited similar multiple body deformations (Table ).…”

“…Low‐quality fish eggs may have changed abundance of particular maternal transcripts (Aegerter, Jalabert, & Bobe, ; Sullivan, Chapman, Reading, & Anderson, ), coalesced lipid droplets (Mansour, Lahnsteiner, & Patzner, ), impaired function of the spindle microtubules (Aegerter, Jalabert, & Bobe, ) and altered permeability of the egg membrane (Rime et al, ). Embryos developing in such eggs quite often exhibit body malformations (Bonnet, Fostier, & Bobe, ; Jagiełło, Dobosz, Zalewski, Polonis, & Ocalewicz, ; Nowosad, Sikora, & Kucharczyk, ). The post‐ovulatory oocyte ageing has been suggested to be influenced by the reactive oxygen species (Lord & Aitken, ; Takahashi et al, ) that are generated within the normal cellular metabolism; however, external factors including ionizing radiation applied when induced androgenesis may significantly increase their production.…”

Effect of Application of Different Activation Media on Fertilization and Embryo Survival of Northern Pike, (Esox lucius) under Hatchery Conditions

“…The increasing demand for food of aquatic origin [1] drives the constant development of artificial fish reproduction technologies [2][3][4][5][6], the modification of fertilization methods [7][8][9][10], genomic manipulation [11][12][13], and egg incubation [14], which facilitate attainment of high-quality larvae for further rearing stages [15][16][17]. One of the finfish species that breeders in Europe and North America are most interested in is the northern pike, Esox lucius [18][19][20][21].…”