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Timing of early gonadal differentiation and effects of estradiol-17β treatments on the sex differentiation in Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

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Abstract

In this study, an efficient estradiol-17β (E2)-induced feminization method was established based on the timing of early gonadal differentiation in Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Histological section results showed that from 20 days post-hatch (dph) to 30 dph, the germ cells gradually differentiated into oogonium and spermatic deferent, respectively. Moreover, female-biased genes Foxl2 and Cyp19a1a were up-regulated to the first peak at 20 dph, while the male-biased genes Dmrt1 were up-regulated to the first peak at 30 dph. These results indicated that the timing of early gonadal differentiation in Largemouth bass was between 20 and 30 dph. Therefore, 15 dph Largemouth bass with a body length of 15.10 ± 0.09 mm were chosen, and four E2-treated diets were set as 0 (E0, control), 50 mg/kg E2 (E50), 100 mg/kg E2 (E100), and 200 mg/kg E2 (E200). After feeding with E2-treated diets for 60 days, female ratios were 55%, 100%, 100%, and 100% in E0, E50, E100, and E200 groups, respectively. No intersex fish were observed in all the groups. However, 30% of females in the E200 group possessed thinner ovaries, with smaller ovary cavity structures and a decreased number of primary oocyte cells than those in other groups. Besides, the Largemouth bass in the E0 group grew more than those in E50, E100, and E200 groups during the E2 treatments period (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our study suggested that 50–100 mg/kg E2-treated diets could effectively induce the feminization of 15 dph Largemouth bass within 60 days duration time, which provided valuable information for the breeding of the all-male Largemouth bass population.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS (2021SJ-CG1 and 2021SJ-XK4), and the Guangzhou Science and Technology Project (202002020018).

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Author notes

  1. Jinxing Du and Jiahui Zhou contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fishery Resource Application and Cultivation, China Ministry of Agriculture, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences, Guangzhou, 510380, China

    Jinxing Du, Jiahui Zhou, Shengjie Li, Jiaqi Shao, Peng Jiang, Caixia Lei, Hongmei Song & Junjie Bai

  2. Guangdong Liangshi Aquatic Seed Industry Co, Ltd, Foshan, 528100, China

    Linqiang Han

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  1. Jinxing Du
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  2. Jiahui Zhou
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Contributions

J. D. conceptualized the project, acquired funding, designed, conducted the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript; J. Z. collected the samples, performed the experiments, and analyzed the data; S. L. conceptualized the project, acquired funding, supervised the study, and modified the manuscript; J. S., P. J., and C. L. helped in collecting the samples. H. S. helped in modifying the paper, and J. B. helped in designing the experiments and modified the manuscript. L. H. helped in providing the experimental facilities and culturing the experimental fish. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shengjie Li.

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This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Animal Experiments of the Pearl River Fishery Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS), China.

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Du, J., Zhou, J., Li, S. et al. Timing of early gonadal differentiation and effects of estradiol-17β treatments on the sex differentiation in Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 805–815 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01074-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01074-4

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