Abstract
This study presents the first incidence of intersex associated with testis-ova in spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) reared in a controlled environment. The testis-ova is associated with the abnormal occurrence of primary oocytes (POs) in some male testis and is referred to as ectopic primary oocytes (Ecto-PO), whiles individuals with Ecto-PO are called “Ecto-PO gonad/individuals.” We investigated gonads of 129 male spotted scat aged 4–12 and 18 months after hatch (mah) by histological studies for the presence of female sexual characteristics. A total of 20 out of 88 gonads representing 22.7% of male fish aged 6–12, or 15.5% of all male fish sampled, were found to have visible Ecto-PO. At least, the Ecto-PO had an average of 7 oocytes per gonadal section, indicating high severity. The Ecto-PO appears after sex differentiation and degenerates during sexual maturation. The Ecto-PO did not significantly influence the expression pattern of male and female sex-related genes performed using qPCR. Immunofluorescence of 42sp50 specifically stained the Ecto-PO without influence from the surrounding testicular tissues. In addition, temperature did not correlate with the proliferation of the Ecto-PO, but rather gonad developmental strategy. The results show that the naturally occurring Ecto-PO might not be detrimental to testis development and could be considered a frequent-high-level incidence of natural aberration. This study highlights the intricacy of fish sex differentiation and provides a new research chapter to ascertain the mystery behind the occurrence of Ecto-PO.
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Funding
This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32172971); Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515010430); the Key Project of “Blue Granary Science and Technology Innovation” of the Ministry of Science and Technology (2018YFD0901203).
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D.N.J, U.F.M, and L.G.L conceived and designed the research; U.F.M, F.Z, H.Y.Q, and D.A conducted the experiment; U.F.M and D.N.J analyzed the data; U.F.M and D.N.J wrote the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Animal experiments were carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The protocol was approved by the Animal Research and Ethics Committee of Guangdong Ocean University (NIH Pub. No. 85–23, revised 1996).
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Mustapha, U.F., Zhi, F., Huang, YQ. et al. First account of a transient intersex in spotted scat, Scatophagus argus: a marine gonochoristic fish. Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 1011–1023 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01097-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01097-x