The relationships between gonad development and sex steroid levels at different ages inAcipenser schrenckii

Abstract

The histological developments of the gonad and the associated sex steroid levels were determined in the breeding stocks of Acipenser schrenckii (age classes 1 to 5) maintained under natural temperature regimes (December 4°C; August 26°C). Early sex differentiation was observed in 1-year-old fish, while testosterone (T) and 17b-estradiol (E 2 ) levels ranged from T 1.1 to 3.4 nmol l )1 (average 1.8 nmol l )1 ), and E 2 varied from 24 to 85 pmol l )1 (av. 50.3 pmol l )1 ). Gonadal status of 2-year-old males was in stage II while ovaries were at stage I, exhibiting T levels from 1.2 to 4.4 nmol l )1 (av. 2.2 nmol l )1 ), and E 2 concentrations from 10 to 97 pmol l )1 (av. 38.9 pmol l )1 ). At the age of 3 years, the testes in males were at developmental stage III while the ovaries remained in stage I, with T levels ranging from 1.3 to 21.7 nmol l )1 (av. 9.6 nmol l )1 ), and E 2 concentrations ranging from 17 to 108 pmol l )1 (av. 44.8 pmol l )1 ). At the age of 4 years, testes in males were at developmental stage III while ovaries in females had reached stage II, with T concentrations ranging from 7.3 to 52.6 nmol l )1 (av. 26.3 nmol l )1 ), and E 2 levels between 13 and 86 pmol l )1 (average 55.3 pmmol l )1 ). In 5-year-old fish, the testes reached maturity stage while the ovaries were mostly in stage III, with T values from 5.7 to 44.2 nmol l )1 (av. 13.9 nmol l )1 ), and E 2 concentrations from 21 to 453 pmol l )1 (av. 137.7 pmol l )1 ). Data demonstrated large differences in sex steroid levels among immature Amur sturgeon, and testicular maturation occurred earlier than ovarian maturation.

Retracted: Gonad histology and serum 11‐KT profile during the annual reproductive cycle in sterlet sturgeon adult males, Acipenser ruthenus

“…Yet, in comparison with the above‐stated technique, cross‐sectional image approach has shown to be useful to distinguish developmental stages (Wildhaber et al., ). Our staging designations are similar to those described on different sturgeon species (Doroshov et al., ; Flynn & Benfey, ; Matsche et al., ; Qu et al., ). As shown in previous studies, histological and hormonal assessments have been used as reliable methods to provide a complete staging description correspond to different seasons (Doroshov et al., ; Matsche et al., ).…”

“…Study of sex steroid levels in serum provided new information on the gonadal steroidogenic capacity of sturgeon, and may serve as the basis for further studies on the hormonal control of male and female gonadal development in these fish (Amiri et al., ). It has been shown that gonad development at all stages in sturgeon is influenced by sex steroid hormones (Qu et al., ). In the present study, sterlet sturgeon males showed that serum 11‐KT levels were relatively low in resting phase at the spermatogonial proliferation stage.…”

“…Moreover, study on annual gonadal cycle and changes in serum sex steroid profile of fish is crucial to examine germline development and spawning pattern in fish (Barcellos et al., ; Golpour, Pšenička, & Niksirat, ; Lee & Yang, ; Manosroi, Meng‐Umphan, & Manosroi, ; Tan‐Fermin, Ijiri, Ueda, Adachi, & Yamauchi, ). Gametogenesis and gonadal cycles were evaluated in cultured male and female of white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus (Doroshov, Moberg, & Van Eenennaam, ), female siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii (Williot, Brun, Rouault, & Rooryck, ), male and female of amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii (Qu, Sun, Wan, & Ma, ), and both sexes of shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum (Colombo, Garvey, & Wills, ; Flynn & Benfey, ). Structure and function of reproductive hormones have also been investigated (Matsche, Rosemary, Brundage, & O'Herron, ; Moberg, Watson, Doroshov, Papkoff, & Pavlick, ).…”

Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses suggest that high dietary lipid levels facilitate ovary development through the enhanced arachidonic acid metabolism, cholesterol biosynthesis and steroid hormone synthesis in Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis)

“…Gonadal development stages were examined according to ultrasound images or histological studies (19) . For histological observation, gonad samples were sectioned at 5 μm and stained with haematoxylin-eosin (28) . Muscle samples were sectioned at 8 μm and stained with oil-red O.…”

Endocrine changes during the previtellogenic stage of the great sturgeon, Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758)

“…Serum levels of E 2 decreased from January to July in our study. The E 2 level in Amur sturgeon Acipenser schrenckii was low at early stages of maturity and increased towards the final maturation (Qu et al., ). E 2 in shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus at the previtellogenic stage was 34.8 pg ml −1 , ranging from 0.5 to 500 pg ml −1 (Wildhaber et al., ).…”