The effects of 11-ketotestosterone implants on transcript levels of gonadotropin receptors, and foxl2 and dmrt1 genes in the Previtellogenic ovary of cultured beluga (Huso huso).

Abdolali Rahdari, Majidreza Khoshkholgh, Mahtab Yarmohammadi, Maren Ortiz-Zarragoitia, Pieter Mark Lokman, Sobhan R Akhavan, Oihane Diaz de Cerio, Ibon Cancio, Bahram Falahatkar

Journal of fish biology 2020 Aug

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The in vivo effect of 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) on transcript levels of the gonadotropin receptors (fshr and lhr) and sex differentiation-related genes (dmrt1 and foxl2) was examined in the ovaries of immature female beluga. For this purpose, six fish were treated with implants containing 2.5 mg 11KT and a placebo group of six females of the same age and gametogenic stage were given a blank implant. The implants were intraperitoneally inserted into 4-year-old females at the previtellogenic stage (mean body weight 5580 ± 165 g) and maintained under culture conditions for 8 weeks. Ovary samples for gene expression analysis of lhr, fshr, dmrt1 and foxl2 were collected by biopsy at 3 and 8 weeks post implantation. Diameters of oocytes increased in response to 11KT treatment, both at 3 and at 8 weeks post implantation, but no obvious changes were evident in cytology. Three weeks of 11KT treatment did not affect target gene expression, but a tendency for a time-dependent decrease of lhr and dmrt1 mRNA levels was observed in both treatment and placebo groups. By 8 weeks of treatment, however, 11KT implants provoked the upregulation of fshr and foxl2 transcript levels. Furthermore, lhr and dmrt1 transcript abundances recovered by 8 weeks of exposure in both blank- and 11KT-implanted beluga. These results suggest that 11KT, either directly or indirectly, may affect gametogenesis and regulate some key components of the reproductive axis in female beluga. © 2020 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Citation

Abdolali Rahdari, Majidreza Khoshkholgh, Mahtab Yarmohammadi, Maren Ortiz-Zarragoitia, Pieter Mark Lokman, Sobhan R Akhavan, Oihane Diaz de Cerio, Ibon Cancio, Bahram Falahatkar. The effects of 11-ketotestosterone implants on transcript levels of gonadotropin receptors, and foxl2 and dmrt1 genes in the Previtellogenic ovary of cultured beluga (Huso huso). Journal of fish biology. 2020 Aug;97(2):374-382