Effect of elevated summer temperatures on gonadal steroid production, vitellogenesis and egg quality in female Atlantic salmon |
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| Authors: | H R King†‡ N W Pankhurst† M Watts† P M Pankhurst† |
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| Institution: | CSIRO Land and Water, Long Pocket Laboratories, 120 Meiers Road, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia;;School of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia and;School of Aquaculture, University of Tasmania, Locked Bag 1-370, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Sex change in the coral-dwelling goby Gobiodon histrio was induced by placing two adult fish of the same sex on a coral colony. The sex change of individual fish was confirmed using histology, and whole-body concentrations of the gonadal steroids testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), and 17β-oestradiol (E2) were examined. The results show that T, 11-KT and E2 occurred in both female and male G. histrio . E2 concentration in females was twice that in males, while concentrations of T did not differ between the sexes. Contrary to predictions, concentrations of T and E2 did not differ between fish that changed sex and those that did not. Most samples had 11-KT concentrations below minimum levels of detection ( i.e. <0·15 ng ml−1) and were therefore not analysed statistically. The results suggest that: (i) specific activation or de-activation of the T–E2 (aromatase) pathway is a probable candidate for mediating serial adult sex change in G. histrio , and (ii) low levels of 11-KT may be important in allowing serial adult sex change in G. histrio . |
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| Keywords: | 11-ketotestosterone Gobiidae Gobiodon histrio gonadal structure oestradiol testosterone |
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