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Seasonal expression of arginine vasotocin mRNA and its correlations to gonadal steroidogenic enzymes and sexually dimorphic coloration during sex reversal in the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

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Abstract

Arginine vasotocin is a hormone produced in the hypothalamus of teleost fish that has been shown to regulate gonad development and sexual behavior. To study the role of arginine vasotocin in the gonadal cycle of the hermaphrodite gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata, we cloned the seabream arginine vasotocin (avt) complementary DNA (cDNA). We investigated the expression of brain avt throughout the gonad cycle using real-time quantitative PCR and compared its expression levels to the expression levels of two key gonadal steroidogenic enzymes, cyp19a1a and cyp11b2. In July, when the process of sex reversal is thought to begin, avt expression was elevated over the previous 2 months. Avt in the brain remained at or above the level of July until November then peaked again in December. There was no difference between males and females in the expression levels of brain avt throughout the year. However, only in ambisexual fish was the expression of the cyp19a1a gonadal aromatase correlated to the expression of avt in the brain. Cyp11b2 did not show any correlation to brain avt expression. We also found that females had more intense body coloration than males and that this intensity peaked prior to spawning. Avt expression and female coloration were positively correlated. The fact that brain avt expression was lowest during gonad quiescence, together with the observation of a correlation between brain avt with gonadal cyp19a1a and body coloration during that time suggests that avt may play a role during the process of sex reversal and spawning of the gilthead seabream.

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Acknowledgements

The present work was supported by the NOAA-Educational Partnership Program (EPP)-funded Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center and the NOA-EPP funded Graduate Science Program. We are also thankful to Steven Rodgers, Eric Evans, Chris Tollini, and John Stubblefield for their technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biotechnology, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, 21208, USA

    José J. Reyes-Tomassini, Ten-Tsao Wong & Yonathan Zohar

  2. Department of Biology, Wartburg College, 100 Wartburg Blvd, Waverly, IA, 50677, USA

    José J. Reyes-Tomassini

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  1. José J. Reyes-Tomassini
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  2. Ten-Tsao Wong
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  3. Yonathan Zohar
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Correspondence to José J. Reyes-Tomassini.

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Reyes-Tomassini, J.J., Wong, TT. & Zohar, Y. Seasonal expression of arginine vasotocin mRNA and its correlations to gonadal steroidogenic enzymes and sexually dimorphic coloration during sex reversal in the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Fish Physiol Biochem 43, 823–832 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-017-0338-3

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