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Quantification of eggs and sperm in the Black-lip pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

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Abstract

We have developed immunological probes to quantify eggs and sperm of the Black-lip pearl (BLP) oyster Pinctada margaritifera. The western blot assay revealed that the polyclonal antibodies developed in this study specifically recognized only egg and sperm proteins. These polyclonal antibodies also showed high sensitivities to the antigens, detecting 0.31–10 μg/ml of the egg or sperm proteins in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Accordingly, we used an indirect ELISA to quantify the eggs and sperm in BLP oysters collected in December 2009 from Weno Island in Micronesia and in May 2010 from Tahiti. The gonad somatic index (GSI), a ratio of gonad weight to somatic tissue weight, of the females collected from Weno Island ranged from 3.6 to 18.4 %, while the GSI of the females collected from Tahiti ranged from 5.6 to 12.6 %. Similarly, the GSI of the male BLP oysters from Weno Island ranged from 0.8 to 8.5 %, while the GSI of the males from Tahiti ranged from 4.8 to 7.5 %. These results lead to the conclusion that the immunological probes developed in this study can be successfully applied to quantify BLP oyster gonadal tissues and that these probes can be used in studies of BLP oyster reproductive ecology based on their sensitivity, rapidity, and affordability.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by International collaboration Study (PM55800) of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) grant funded by the Korea Government Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries. The authors also deeply appreciate financial support from KIOST (PE99161).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marine Biomedical Science, Jeju National University, 102 Jejudaehakno, Jeju, 690-756, Republic of Korea

    Hee-Do Jeung & Kwang-Sik Choi

  2. Global Bioresources Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), P.O. Box 29, Ansan, Republic of Korea

    Do-Hyung Kang & Heung-Sik Park

  3. Laboratoire Ecosystème Perlicole, IFREMER, Centre du Pacifique, BP 7004, 98719, Taravao, French Polynesia

    Gilles Le Moullac

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  1. Hee-Do Jeung
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Correspondence to Kwang-Sik Choi.

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Jeung, HD., Kang, DH., Park, HS. et al. Quantification of eggs and sperm in the Black-lip pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fish Sci 80, 451–462 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-014-0706-1

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