Meiotic gynogenesis in the stellate,Russian sturgeon and sterlet

Diploid gynogenetic progenies were obtained in the stellate sturgeon Acipenser stellatus, Russian sturgeon A. gueldenstaedtii, and sterlet A. ruthenus by means of insemination of the eggs with UV-irradiated spermatozoa and suppression of the second meiotic division by heat shock. The gynogenetic nature of experimental fish was confirmed by RAPD-PCR analysis of DNA. Effective photoreactivation of UV-induced lesions of spermatozoa was shown in the case of illumination of the fertilized eggs with visible light. This phenomenon should be taken into account when determining the doses of irradiation that allow inactivation of the male chromosomes and incubating gynogenetic embryos. Gynogenetic stellate and Russian sturgeons are viable and can be reared in order to study the mechanism of sex determination in sturgeons.