The Involvement of Hormones in Fish: Basic and Applied Aspects of Russian Sturgeon (Acipenser Gueldenstaedtii)

Abstract

Gad Degani

Fish are a very large group, containing a huge variety of over 33,000 species.Scientific knowledge about the interaction between hormones of the somatic axis (SA) and the gonadotropic axis (GA), both of which function in the brain, and the pituitary gonad axis (BPG) that controls growth and reproduction, is vital for the domestication of fish in aquaculture.The Acipenserida family comprises 27 species, some of which have a very high economic value, among them Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) that adapted to growth in aquaculture conditions. Many aspects aimed at improving the adaptation and production of Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) have been studied for quite a long time. Models based on the results of our and others’ studies describing the interaction between GA and SA during oogenesis in Russian sturgeon have been suggested. The mRNA relative level of FSH during vitellogenesis (VTL) was higher in females than in males, affecting VTL secretion of vitellogenin (Vg); however, it was lower in the pre-vitellogenic stage than in VTL. No difference was found in mRNA levels of the luteinizing hormone (LH) in Russian sturgeon during the first four years of growth. During its first five years of growth, the level of GH mRNA was higher in females than in males, but due to the high standard deviation of the mean, the difference was not significant. IGF-I mRNA expression differed between the various tissues.

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