A 180 Myr-old female-specific genome region in sturgeon reveals the oldest known vertebrate sex determining system with undifferentiated sex chromosomes.

Several hypotheses explain the prevalence of undifferentiated sex chromosomes in poikilothermic vertebrates. Turnovers change the master sex determination gene, the sex chromosome or the sex determination system (e.g.

Infection in European Sea Bass: Revealing a Long Misunderstood Relationship.

(Cymothoidea, Isopoda) is a generalist crustacean parasite that negatively affects the economic sustainability of European sea bass () aquaculture in the North-East Mediterranean. While mortalities are observed in fry and fingerlings, infection in juvenile and adult fish result in approximately 20% growth delay. A transcriptomic analysis (PCR array, RNA-Seq) was performed on organs (tongue, spleen, head kidney, and liver) from infected vs.

Molecular characterization of two Russian sturgeon gonadotropin receptors: Cloning, expression analysis, and functional activity.

Sturgeons are being used in aquaculture because wild populations are now endangered due to overfishing for caviar. A challenge in working with sturgeon as an aquacultured species is its long and slow reproductive development. Reproduction is a hormonally regulated process that involves hierarchical signaling between the brain, pituitary gland, and gonads.

Temperature training improves transcriptional homeostasis after heat shock in juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus).

Exposure to high temperatures can lead to thermotolerance in fish, which is hypothesized to potentially improve post-release survival in species under restocking programs, like Atlantic sturgeon. The aim of this study was to determine whether Atlantic sturgeon juveniles exposed to a 4-week temperature treatment respond differently to a subsequent heat shock than juveniles exposed to heat shock for the first time (naive fish). Response to heat shock was assessed by mapping the liver transcriptome.

Functional divergence of thyrotropin beta-subunit paralogs gives new insights into salmon smoltification metamorphosis.

Smoltification is a metamorphic event in salmon life history, which initiates downstream migration and pre-adapts juvenile salmon for seawater entry. While a number of reports concern thyroid hormones and smoltification, few and inconclusive studies have addressed the potential role of thyrotropin (TSH). TSH is composed of a α-subunit common to gonadotropins, and a β-subunit conferring hormone specificity.

Deep transcriptome analysis of the heat shock response in an Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) cell line.

Despite efforts to restore Atlantic sturgeon in European rivers, aquaculture techniques result in animals with high post-release mortality due to, among other reasons, their low tolerance to increasing water temperature. Marker genes to monitor heat stress are needed in order to identify heat-resistant fish. Therefore, an Atlantic sturgeon cell line was exposed to different heat shock protocols (30 °C and 35 °C) and differences in gene expression were investigated.

Application of Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode) and Danio rerio embryo (zebrafish) as model systems to screen for developmental and reproductive toxicity of Piperazine compounds.

To enable selection of novel chemicals for new processes, there is a recognized need for alternative toxicity screening assays to assess potential risks to man and the environment. For human health hazard assessment these screening assays need to be translational to humans, have high throughput capability, and from an animal welfare perspective be harmonized with the principles of the 3Rs (Reduction, Refinement, Replacement). In the area of toxicology a number of cell culture systems are available but while these have some predictive value, they are not ideally suited for the prediction of developmental and reproductive toxicology (DART).