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Ovarian degeneration during the female-to-male sex change in the protogynous hermaphroditic fish, Halichoeres poecilopterus

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Abstract

Halichoeres poecilopterus (Labridae) is a protogynous, hermaphroditic fish common in temperate waters around Japan. Although oocyte degeneration is an established event at the onset of sex change, there is little information on the process. We examined cell numbers and proportional ratios of ovarian germ cells in sex-changing gonads of H. poecilopterus. This confirmed a lack of YV (yolk vesicle stage) and Y (yolk stage) oocytes, a rapid decrease of P (perinucleolus stage) oocytes, and a slight increase of CN (before/at chromatin nucleolus stage) germ cells. We discuss gonadal conditions necessary for the protogynous sex change of H. poecilopterus.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to S. Ohtsuka, J. Shoji, S. Iwasaki, and other members of the Takehara Marine Science Station of Hiroshima University; K. Uematsu, K. Matsushita, N. Tsujita, the crewmembers of the research vessel Toyoshio-maru of Hiroshima University; and members of the laboratory of the Biology of Aquatic Resources Department of Hiroshima University for supporting our study. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. This study was partly supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists. All experiments in this study complied with the current laws of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 739-8528, Japan

    Yuko Miyake, Jin Nishigakiuchi, Yoichi Sakai & Hisato Kuniyoshi

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  1. Yuko Miyake
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  2. Jin Nishigakiuchi
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  3. Yoichi Sakai
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  4. Hisato Kuniyoshi
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Correspondence to Yuko Miyake.

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Miyake, Y., Nishigakiuchi, J., Sakai, Y. et al. Ovarian degeneration during the female-to-male sex change in the protogynous hermaphroditic fish, Halichoeres poecilopterus . Ichthyol Res 59, 276–281 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-012-0280-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-012-0280-4

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