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The roles of bone and muscle as phosphorus reservoirs during the sexual maturation of female Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica Temminck and Schlegel (Anguilliformes)

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry volume 24, pages 327–334 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

We sought to determine the organs that function as phosphorus (P) reservoirs for supplying this mineral to the ovary during the sexual maturation of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica (Anguilliformes). The P content of the ovary increased markedly during sexual maturation despite the lack of an extrinsic P supply (e.g., diet). This phenomenon suggests that the P that accumulated in the ovary was derived from other parts of the eel. In addition, the P content of bone dramatically decreased during maturation, as did the total bone weight. This result suggests that resorption of bone occurred during the sexual maturation of the eel. Whereas the P content and mass of muscle markedly decreased during maturation, the Ca and P contents of the skin (which was scaled) did not. The total (whole-fish) P content was constant throughout maturation. Together, our results suggest that almost all of the P lost from bone and muscle is incorporated in the ovary and that bone and muscle function as P reservoirs during the sexual maturation of the Japanese eel.

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Authors
  1. Y. Yamada
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  2. A. Okamura
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  3. S. Tanaka
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  4. T. Utoh
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  5. N. Horie
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  6. N. Mikawa
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  7. H.P. Oka
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Yamada, Y., Okamura, A., Tanaka, S. et al. The roles of bone and muscle as phosphorus reservoirs during the sexual maturation of female Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica Temminck and Schlegel (Anguilliformes). Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 24, 327–334 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015059524947

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015059524947

  • bone resorption
  • mineral distribution
  • muscle absorption
  • sexual maturation
  • spawning migration

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