Androgenic Modulation in the Primary Ovarian Growth of the Japanese eel, .

seedling production is urgently required for eel aquaculture due to the species' severely dwindling population. This study aimed to understand androgenic modulation of the primary ovarian growth, a critical development phase in females, in this semelparous fish. Through histological analysis, primordial to primary follicle transition was observed before hormone injection, and eels injected with SPH + MT showed greater synchronous follicle development than those injected with SPH alone.

Transcriptome response of previtellogenic ovary in Anguilla japonica after artificial hormone injection.

In this study we investigate the intra-ovarian pathways underlying early follicle development in Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica. We conducted high-throughput transcriptome analyses in the initial development of the ovary via the next-generation sequencing (NGS). Japanese eels were treated with three weekly salmon pituitary homogenate (SPH) injections.

Hedgehog-PKA signaling and gnrh3 regulate the development of zebrafish gnrh3 neurons.

GnRH neurons secrete GnRH that controls the development of the reproduction system. Despite many studies, the signals controlling the development of GnRH neurons from its progenitors have not been fully established. To understand the development of GnRH neurons, we examined the development of gnrh3-expressing cells using a transgenic zebrafish line that expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP) and LacZ driven by the gnrh3 promoter.

Diaphanous-related formin 2 and profilin I are required for gastrulation cell movements.

Intensive cellular movements occur during gastrulation. These cellular movements rely heavily on dynamic actin assembly. Rho with its associated proteins, including the Rho-activated formin, Diaphanous, are key regulators of actin assembly in cellular protrusion and migration.

Structural and expression analysis of hepatic vitellogenin gene during ovarian maturation in Anguilla japonica.

Vitellogenin (Vtg), the precursor molecule for yolk, is synthesized in the liver under estrogenic control. In all oviparous species, including fish, the process of vitellogenesis is crucial to subsequent embryonic development. This study attempted to obtain the cDNA encoding for Vtg from female Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica.

Chromosomal organization, evolutionary relationship, and expression of zebrafish GnRH family members.

Multiple forms of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) are found in different vertebrates. In this study, we have cloned cDNA encoding the full-length gnrh3 and gnrh2 from zebrafish brain and characterized their structure and expression patterns. We performed phylogenetic analysis and compared conserved syntenies in the region surrounding the GnRH genes from human, chicken, pufferfish, and zebrafish genores.

Gene duplication, gene loss and evolution of expression domains in the vertebrate nuclear receptor NR5A (Ftz-F1) family.

Fushi tarazu factor 1 (Ftz-F1, NR5A) is a zinc-finger transcription factor that belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily and regulates genes that are involved in sterol and steroid metabolism in gonads, adrenals, liver and other tissues. To understand the evolutionary origins and developmental genetic relationships of the Ftz-F1 genes, we have cloned four homologous Ftz-f1 genes in zebrafish, called ff1a, ff1b, ff1c and ff1d. These four genes have different temporal and spatial expression patterns during development, indicating that they have distinct mechanisms of genetic regulation.